Tabula Rasa
by shadow eyes
Summary: New chapter added. Yeah, i know. Alert the media! anyways, don't forget to write a review! thanks!
1. So, what else is new?

**Tabula Rasa**

Hi guys! This is my first MD fic so please bear with me. Please, I'd love to hear what you think. Like I said, it's going to be a Connie/Guy/Adam fic. I'm just not sure yet what pair it'll be in the end.

Disclaimer: I really wish I owned these people, but I don't. They've got 'Property of Disney' stamped down their asses. ;P

**Chapter One: So what else is new? **

The hallways of Eden Hall Academy were buzzing in excitement. No wonder, it was the last week of school before summer. Everyone was anticipating the much-awaited vacation ahead.

"So, have you asked for their permission yet?" her best friend Julie Gaffney asked. They were walking down the halls, headed for their dorm room. A couple of freshmen guys waved at them as they passed by. They waved at her to be exact. She acknowledged them with a smile and a tiny wave. Three years of playing for the Eden Hall Ducks has earned Connie Moreau throngs of adoring male fans.

She caught Julie rolling her eyes, which made her chuckle. It's not that Julie was jealous. She too, had it once. Before Dean Portman came into the picture, that is. Now every male who has as much as looked her friend's way earned himself a furious and menacing glare from Dean. Every once in a while he'd crack his knuckles at them too.

Apparently, that was enough to drive them away.

_Good thing Guy isn't anything like Portman._ Connie smiled as the picture of her own boyfriend flashed on her head.

"There's no need," she replied. She took out a small package from her backpack. "I got it this morning: House keys, car keys, some wads of cash, a short letter and my very own credit card." Connie held up every item in front of her friend, including a small piece of paper.

Julie raised an eyebrow. "Wow, that's... interesting. Well, what does it say?"

Carefully, she unfolded the paper and cleared her throat. "_Dearest Connie_," she started, "_Here's an early present for your birthday. Hope you use it wisely. By the way, I inserted the house keys and the car keys inside. Your Aunt Sarah and I need to go to __Australia__ for a month or two. Don't worry; we're not deserting you or anything_."

Connie couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah, right."Julie signaled her to continue.

She sighed and kept on reading aloud. "_Just have to take care of some businesses. Feel free to live in the house for a while. You could ask some friends to stay over for the summer, to keep you company_. _Use the money to buy tickets to go home. The remaining cash, I believe, will be enough to last you a couple of months. Have fun! Uncle Pete._"

"_Have fun_?" Julie stared at her incredulously as they turned around the corner echoing what the letter read. "Just like that? They're leaving you alone in this country and telling you to have fun?!"

"Like it wouldn't be the same." There was a hint of bitterness in her voice. Ever since her parents died almost two years ago, the court appointed her Aunt Sarah to be Connie's guardian until she reached the legal age. She and her husband had no children of their own. _Probably because they were so busy with their businesses to have one_, she first thought. All the same, they were still too busy to take care of her. For two summers now, she had been flying up north and staying with them until the semester starts again.

They both fell silent for a moment, before Julie suddenly snapped her finger. "You know what Cons, never mind them. I just had a brilliant idea." Her friend chirped excitedly. "You could come and stay with me after next week's trip. It'll be the best summer ever!"

Her eyes flashed with excitement. "Really?!" Julie nodded eagerly. "'Coz that would be great!"

She squealed in glee just thinking about spending the whole summer with her best friend. Beside her, Julie began jumping, earning them weird glances from the other students.

"Ladies, ladies," someone from behind them called out. "While the idea of having eleven hunky half _naked_ guys trapped in an island with you is thrilling…" He made a 'tsk tsk tsk' noise. "Could you just please try to keep your hormones in check, at least until the end of the week. Really, it's not good to look at."

They both stopped and turned around as Greg Goldberg wrapped his arms around them and gave them knowing looks.

Charlie Conway, Fulton Reed, Russ Taylor, and the rest of the ducks were behind him.

Connie felt her heart skip a beat when she saw who was behind Fulton.

_Guy._

God knows how much she loved his eyes. It would always seem to twinkle when he sees her. Connie smiled at him, completely forgetting Goldberg's earlier comment. Guy has a tendency to make her forget about everything else. And it works every time.__

Dean on Julie, on the other hand, didn't have the same effect. She quickly gave Goldberg an elbow.

"Hey ouch, that hurts!" He rubbed his ribs.

* * *

Guy Germaine found himself running a hand through his slightly long blonde hair upon seeing Connie. As soon as she saw him, she flashed him a gorgeous smile. His heart fluttered at the sight of her. _Good_ _god, that never fails to happen._ He made his way towards her. "Hi, stranger," he greeted with a smile and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. He loved how his arms would just fit snuggly on her body.

Connie turned around, gave him a light peck on the cheek, and grinned at him. "Hey yourself," she greeted him, leaning against his body.

"Ahem," Ken Wu cleared his throat. "Show's a little too early, don't you think?"

She punched him playfully on the shoulders. They both turned their attention back towards the others.

"I hate to break it to you, Goldberg, but there are actually twelve of us gentlemen on the team." Dwayne Robertson said, rather confused at him for not noticing.

"I said hunks, not geeks."

"Then who invited you?" Charlie suddenly answered.

Connie tried to pass her laugh as a snicker but failed miserably. Guy, like everybody else, burst out laughing.

Goldberg glared at him. "Don't get smart with me, Spazway," he shot back.

"That's _Captain_ Spazway to you, thank you very much."

"Yeah, well…" Goldberg fell silent, failing to come up with a retort.

"Ooh, Ladies and gentlemen," Les Averman announced as he held out his hand as if holding a microphone. "Captain Ducky just unleashed a powerful one-two comeback, and Goldie is down for the count!"

'Shut up, Averman."

* * *

I don't know, but for me, the first few chapters are the hardest ones to write. Hopefully, I can gather enough steam to get this story going. So until then, please bear with me. Tell me what you think!


	2. Babes, Bikinis, and Banks, oh my!

**Chapter 2: Babes, bikinis, and Banks, oh my!**

A/n: This chapter is the continuation of the conversation from the first one. Hope you enjoy!

**Emily Henson:** Hi there, Emily! I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the little tip. I'll keep that in mind. **_¤_**_looks at Bruno**¤**_ Oh no… Uh, hi..? I-uh, I'd just like to pre-apologize for whatever I might write in this fic that goes against the Connie/Guy pairing... Please don't hurt me! **_¤_**_dashes off to find a perfect hiding place**¤**_ LOL!

**AntiIRONY**: Thanks! No, I'm not making Fulton gay. I like them just the way they are. J Glad you liked Julie/Portman too.

Disclaimer: You know that stamp down the ass thing? Yeah, it's still there… ;P

* * *

Adam watched as Guy and Connie cuddle up to each other. God, how he wished he were that lucky bastard that brushes aside strands of her hair across her face… To be the one feeling her silky, brown mane right down his finger tips…

His thoughts were shattered when Luis Mendoza suddenly spoke up.

"Hey guys, you _do_ realize that we're not the only ones half naked in there, but these two beautiful ladies as well." The Latino pointed out, beaming. He winked at Connie and was about to wink at Julie, but stopped himself short. Dean was hovering behind Julie and was giving him the evil eye. Connie pointedly ignored him.

Before he could stop himself, a huge grin crept into Adam's face.

"Hey, whatcha grinning at, Banksie?" Dean Portman suddenly piped up. He had a very furious expression on his face.

Almost immediately, his hand flew to his mouth and tried to disguise his smile by rubbing his chin. "Huh? Nothing," he quickly mumbled, feigning innocence. "I-uh, just remembered something funny, that's all."

"No you're not. You're thinking about something else." He looked at him accusingly. "You're thinking about what speed boy here just said."

Adam almost lost it there. Did Portman know he was thinking about Connie when Luis made that comment? _Wait, _he backtracked, _we're talking about Portman here. He probably thinks I'm fantasizing about Julie._ He paused for a moment. _Uh-oh, not good._

"Oh no, here he goes," Julie muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

"Stop thinking about her in a bikini, cake-eater. She's _my _babe, not yours." Portman glared at him menacingly. "Get your fucking own."

Adam flashed her please-help-me look, before turning towards Dean. "I'm not, really," he said a little too quickly.

"Quit it, Dean. Okay, first of all," Julie stepped in between them. "I'm sure Adam's not thinking about that." Adam smiled at her gratefully. "And second, you're _babe_ has a name, you know… And it's Julie." She crossed her arms across her chest. "Now if you don't stop this nonsense, I guarantee you, you won't be able to see the real thing." A sly smile was plastered on her face.

The halls reverberated with 'ooohs', entirely from the male Ducks. Connie was chuckling lightly while Julie was smiling triumphantly at everybody else.

That seemed to have knocked some sense into him. Portman promptly stopped, and instead glowered beside his best friend, Fulton. "Stupid cake-eater, fantasizing about my ba-" He stopped muttering and quickly looked up to see Julie raising an eyebrow at him. "-Julie." A series of incoherent ramblings soon followed. No doubt still talking about Adam.

"Man, the cat lady has got you whipped!" Russ exclaimed. "Wapshhh!" He imitated a whipping sound and threw his arms around, as if whipping him.

Dwayne let out a snort, while everyone else was trying their best not to laugh.

Portman shot him a fierce look. That quickly wiped the smile off Dwayne's face.

"That's really great Portman," Fulton said sarcastically. "'Because even if Banksie _was_ fantasizing, now so will everybody else. Thanks for painting that _terrifically_ beautiful picture into our minds, bro." He winked at Julie, who laughed. Knowing Portman, he was sure that comment would totally drive him insane.

All the guys hooted in agreement.

Dean, however, looked like he was ready to swallow everyone whole.

"Cool it, bash brother," Ken held out his arm, seeing the enraged look on Portman's face. "Fulton here was just kidding."

"Guys, guys, before you start fantasizing about half naked bodies-" Connie interjected.

Adam turned his head and unexpectedly caught her eye. She smiled at him, the smile that always made him go weak at the knees. He bit his lip and smile back.

"I think you're forgetting that we still have a game against the Bears this Friday."

Guy was quick to agree. "She's right, you guys. Remember how those big goons almost wiped us on the floor the last time? Besides, the vacation isn't even until next week." Connie beamed at him, and he looked pleased with himself.

"Shut up, Germaine. You're probably picturing Connie in a little bikini too." Charlie knew he hit him big time when he saw Guy's face suddenly flush.

Adam quickly pinched his cheeks hard, trying to rid the huge smile that threatened to form on his face. _Please don't let anybody notice me. Just please – _

Tough luck. Goldberg noticed him. "Hey Banksie, something wrong?"

He stood there for a moment, silent. "Um yeah, I mean no! I mean…" he answered uncomfortably.

His teammates watched him quizzically, probably because of his cheeks that were now turning from deep red to frighteningly purple.

_Great. A mere mention of a little bikini and already I'm acting like an idiot. Way to go, Banks! _Adam inwardly cursed himself for his own stupidity. Now not only did he have to endure the stares of his teammates, he had to endure the stares of everyone else on the floor.

And his cheeks hurt, damn it!

"I just thought-uh, my cheeks were-uh, falling asleep." Adam offered lamely.

That earned him even more weird stares.

"Ah-I'm pinching it to-uh, stimulate blood circulation." He nodded his head vigorously. Finally, he let his cheeks go. "Well, I think it's okay now," he smiled at them reassuringly, lightly tapping his cheeks. _Oww! I feel a bruise forming…_

"…Right, whatever man." Averman replied, finally breaking the awkward silence. "I gotta go, guys. I need to find some book and then return it to the library. Mrs. Johnson said that if I didn't return the book I borrowed, she'd whack with an almanac next time she sees me. Which is bad… Since I see her almost everyday, and the almanac weighs like a ton." He wrinkled his nose. "I don't see why she's so mad, though. I mean, it's just a book."

"It's a book you borrowed a _year_ ago." Ken clarified. "Come on, I'll help you find it. She'd probably whack me too since I'm your roommate, and you keep telling her _I _was the one using it." He grabbed Averman by the shoulders. "See you at practice, guys." They both turned to leave.

"It's at 6pm, don't forget. Orion will throw a fit if anyone's late again." Charlie shouted. Ken gave a small wave of acknowledgement, and walked off towards the male dorm rooms.

After the two left, the other Ducks seemed to go off on their own. Charlie left to meet with Linda. Dwayne and Goldberg went to their room to catch some snooze. Julie managed to persuade Dean into doing his Chemistry project, which was due on Wednesday. Russ and Fulton wandered off to victimize unsuspecting freshmen with their practical jokes.

"Hey man, I'll see you at practice. I gotta go too." Luis told his roommate. "Rachel told me to meet her after classes."

"Rachel, as in the head cheerleader, Rachel?" Adam asked.

"The one and only," he answered with a slight laugh. "Listen, if you want to hook up with somebody, just tell me, alright? Me and the cheerleading squad are kinda tight. I can hook you up with any of them, anytime."

Adam smirked. Some people just never change. Ever since they stepped inside Eden Hall Academy, Luis has been nothing short of pretty boy chasing cheerleader skirts.

"Sure, I'll let you know. Anyway, I need to finish some homework. So go, don't bother me." He shooed him away good-humoredly.

"Guess we'll see you at practice too, Banksie."

He turned around to face Guy and Connie. He smiled weakly at them. "Yeah – " Connie flashed him a smile and gave a small wave.

"Bye." She said before they too, turned to leave.

He watched as they disappeared around the corner. Adam watched as they walked away, hands firmly clasped together.

"Bye…"

* * *

Please, don't forget to write a review!!! Thanks!!

Oh wait, just a little question… why can't I use normal asterisks on my chapters??? They always disappear once I upload the document… it's driving me crazy!


	3. Pillow Talk

**Chapter 3: Pillow Talk**

**a/n: **Just want to remind you that the italicized words are the characters' thoughts; otherwise it is used to emphasize a word during speech. Thanks!

**Disclaimer: **I'm pretty sure they used permanent ink on that stamp!

* * *

"So, you want to tell me what that was about?" Guy asked as he opened the door to his room. He stepped aside to let Connie in before shutting the door behind him.

"What, Dean and Julie?" She plopped on Guy's bed and chucked her bag on the floor. "They've been like that since they hooked up." Connie frowned at her.

"No, I'm not talking about that." he answered, picking up some of Russ' clothes off the floor and tossing it on his bed. "I'm talking about you and Julie. The two of you were giggling like maniacs out there on the hallway. What, you won the lottery or something?"

"Oh that," she replied as Guy took a seat beside her. "I got this letter from my uncle telling me they've gone to Australia for some business, probably the whole summer." A grin crept on her face as Connie remembered that she was going to spend the summer with her best friend.

He gently took her hand into hands and began playing with it. "And that's a good thing because…"

"Because Julie just invited me to spend my summer in Maine." She leaned against his chest. "We're going there right after the team's two-week vacation to Hawaii."

"And they're okay with that?"

"Yeah," she quickly answered.

"Uh huh, right." Guy cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Well okay, not exactly," Connie slowly responded. "But it's basically what they told me, except it's the other way around."

"What exactly did they say?"

"That I could bring some friends over for the summer to keep me company." She shrugged it off.

"So instead of buying a ticket to go there, you'll be using it to go to Maine with Julie?" Connie nodded. "Huh, I see." Guy slowly let go of her hand. _Here it comes!_

_Did I just hear that? _"'Huh'? What 'huh'?" Connie tipped her head towards him and waited for an answer. "Guy Germaine, what are you 'huh'-ing me about?" _He better explain himself this time. _The last thing she wanted was another fight with Guy over something as silly as a trip to Maine.

It was mean, he knew, but he just loves pulling Connie's leg. "Nothing," he answered, raising both his hands.

She could already feel her temperature rising. _'Nothing', my ass! There's absolutely nothing about that 'huh'! The last time he made that sound, we ended up not talking to each other for a week! I'm giving him twenty – no! – fifteen seconds to explain himself or I'll storm out here faster that he can say 'Cons'. _Connie squinted at him, as if trying to read his mind.

Guy could already see the gears turning in her head. _Let's see… arms across the chest, and right foot tapping._

As if on cue, Connie crossed her arms on her chest and lightly tapped her foot. _Seven seconds, Germaine!_

Guy smiled inwardly. He loved the way she looked whenever she's getting upset. _I'd better stop pulling her leg or there will be hell to pay later. _With all seriousness that he could muster, he opened his mouth to speak. "Your uncle gave you permission to have some friends stay over and it never occurred to you to invite your own boyfriend for the summer?" He was trying hard to look miffed. Emphasis on _trying hard_. "Don't you know how much that hurts me? There is so much to do around there when you have your boyfriend for company the whole summer." Guy then smiled at her deviously. __

Again, she had been caught unaware and unprepared by one of Guy's crazy tricks. _What, is that the third time this day?_ Connie huffed indignantly and grabbed the nearest pillow she could find. "Ohh, I hate it when you do that! You're really mean, Germaine!" She whacked him a couple of times with it. "Why do you always have to psyche me out?!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" Guy started laughing, while trying to fend of the pillow.

With their on-off relationship for the past couple of years, her reaction to him was just typical. It was, no matter how bizarre, the only way he could tell that she was 'good old Connie'. She would be absolutely in love with him one minute and be dangerously livid the next. Strong and feisty, yet vulnerable at the same time. The same 'Connie' he'd been in love with, ever since he was toddler.

Guy suddenly grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's just that, do you know you look cute when you're upset?" He planted a light kiss on her nose.

"I don't know." She wondered out aloud, biting her lip. "They tell me I grow ten feet taller… suddenly sports claws on my fingers… yells like a crazy bitch… hmm, I'm not sure that would exactly pass for 'cute'."

"Yeah, but that just happens on special occasions, Cons. You know, on cat fights and stuff."

"And you don't know how close this has been on becoming that one." She let out a frustrated sigh. "Why can't you just be like other men who gets their tick by asking their girlfriends to dress up and then say," Connie lowered her voice to imitate a man, "'you look hot, babe'."

"I think you're confusing me for Portman."

"Shut up!" She playfully smacked him on the shoulders. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know." Guy conceded. "But you have this thing, you know, when you're upset. Just drives me wild." He grinned at her.

"Weirdo."

"You've been telling me that since we were kids." Guy combed his hairs with his hand and gave her an exaggerated smile – a movie star smile. "That's the reason you fell madly in love with me, remember?"

"Uggh, you are impossible, Guy Germaine!"

"Impossible to resist, I know." Without warning, Guy leaned in for a kiss. He became aware of her arms moving behind him and felt it wrapped itself on the back of his neck. The feeling of her warm, soft lips into his made him weak at the knees.

They tumbled on the bed, but managed to pull themselves upright without even breaking the kiss.

Connie had given him thousands of kisses already, but it never seemed to lose its effects on him. He sat there, savoring each of her sweet kisses.

Guy had the same effect on her. He was always a gentleman; his kisses always soft and tender, never forcing itself unto her. She could feel herself melt into his strong arms. If she'd one wish to last a lifetime, she'd wish to be stuck there in his arms forever.

Connie pulled back her head slightly, catching her breath. She could feel Guy's arm still wrapped around her. "Have you been getting pointers from Luis?" she whispered, a slight smile appeared on her face.

"What if I am," he countered slyly. Guy brushed aside a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. He studied her for a while, running his hands delicately through her face. A smile broke out on his face. For a moment, he stood there, marveling at her beauty. __

"What?" She asked, rather self-conscious. Her cheeks were turning pink and her heart was pounding. _You've been dating him since you were ten, Moreau. Why the hell are you sitting here, feeling like it's your first goddamn kiss! _Connie unconsciously started twirling his golden locks into her fingers.

"Just making sure I wasn't dreaming."

She frowned at him a little.

"I'm standing here, inches from most beautiful girl in the world," he murmured to her ear, "and I just want to make sure it's not a dream."

There was a pause. "It's a good thing it's you and not Luis who's the one in front of me saying those lines," she mumbled back. "'Cause if he was, I'd outright laugh at his face and storm the hell outta here." Connie couldn't help but smile. There was no resisting Guy Germaine's boyish charms. "You could have just asked me to pinch you."

"Well, yeah," he answered tentatively, "but how else could I put those lessons into use?"

"No, you just did that to shut me up."

"Is it working?"

"I don't know. Try again," she suggested.

Guy leaned again to kiss her. After a few seconds into it, however, the door suddenly opened wide and Russ came barging in, guffawing. It was then that he noticed the two of them sitting at the foot of Guy's bed.

Surprised, both of them jumped back a little.

"Hi, Russ," Connie greeted him.

"Hey, man," Guy greeted rather guiltily, his cheeks turning red.

Russ rolled his eyes. "Get a room." He walked over, went over to his desk, and rummaged for something.

They just posed there like statues, stupefied. Connie turned crimson while Guy just blinked at him.

"Uh, not this room."

She stared at him, completely mortified at her teammate's comments. It's not the first time a teammate caught them in the middle of... something. In fact, everyone of the Ducks had walked in on them on more than one occasion. Still, it doesn't make it less awkward for all of them.

"I'd better go," Connie finally recovered and stood up. "I remember something I have to do." She hastily grabbed her bag on the floor.

"I'll walk you to your room," he said, turning to Connie. As they walked out, Guy gave him and evil glare.

"What?" he called out after him, peeking into the hallway. "Hey, I live here too!"

* * *

Adam sighed as he fell into his bed. For the past forty-five minutes, he had been moping around his room thinking whether or not Connie and Guy were making out in his room… or hers. He grabbed the tennis ball on top of his side drawer and began throwing it to the ceiling. "I've got to stop torturing myself," he whispered to the room. Not as if that phrase was new. _Now I sound like a broken record. Didn't I just say that line ten minutes ago?_ For seven years now, he'd been doing and thinking the same thing about them. Every single goddamn night. __

Except of course when Connie and Guy had a fight.

Whenever that happens, Connie would 'conveniently' find him walking around the girls' dorms. Then he would be 'conveniently' there to listen to her lash out how 'stupid' and 'insensitive' Guy was. Of course, Adam would always be there to comfort her. Oh, how… 'convenient' could he get!

_No wonder they think I'm gay!_ He tossed the ball to the ceiling angrily. _I'm like Julie, without the racks. _

Some people saw his still being single as a sign of being gay. He was smart, rich, good-looking, and a damn good hockey player. And he's just seventeen! If he wanted, he could have any girl by his side. _Just not Connie, though. _He'd be blind not to notice that she's already by Guy's side.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. The ball hit the ceiling and came down with more force, and he was too wrapped up in his thoughts that he failed to catch it. Adam lifted his head and glanced at the clock. It read 5:25. Thirty-five more minutes before practice.

_Fifteen more minutes of moping around and I'll get my gear ready. _He wondered what Connie was doing right now. Adam stared off into space. This afternoon was a close one. Portman's jealous nature distracted them from him the first time. Adam touched his cheeks lightly and flinched. It was still sore from all the pinching he did. _Geez, if acted any more idiotic than I did, they would surely notice something was up._ He's been playing charades with everybody else for the past… seven years. Acting like he and Connie were nothing more than brother and sister. How long could he possibly keep it up? Five, ten, fifteen years more?

Maybe two weeks in Hawaii with the rest of the Ducks will do him good. Assuming, of course, that he could get her off his mind the whole time. _Yeah, right. Even there, she'll probably be off with Guy somewhere._

Adam exhaled loudly. "Face it, Banks. You'll never be more that a close friend." His own words stung him. _It's true, I'll never be. How could I possibly compete with Guy when he's got fifteen years with Connie against my seven years with her?_ _They're practically attached to the hip..._ Tears were threatening to spill from his eyes. He wiped it off and angrily rubbed his eyes. What now, he's going to cry? _Jesus, then I must be gay! Why else would I be here crying?!_

He got up and placed the ball back on his table. _No use crying over something you can never ever have_. He composed himself for a few minutes, before finally shutting the door behind.

Practice that night was pretty exhausting. Adam collapsed on his bed a few hours later, and sleep almost immediately took over.

_Good_. That meant no Connie dreams tonight.

* * *

Alright, that was just a little peek into what's going on with the three. Don't forget to write a review!!! Thanks!

* * *

**NYgoldfish54: **Thanks for your support, Kristine. I'm really happy you like my story. :P

**anne918: **Hey there, Gina. i like julie with either adam or portman too, but more with portman. i think it's because they're so opposite of each other. they look cute together. anyway, grazie! :P

**Emily: **haha, i doubt he will! anyway, i hope you still have Bruno stashed away somewhere. i have yet to find the perfect hiding place. P

**antiIRONY: **Hi. I just want to say my thanks. i mean, you did take your time to write a review... so, thanks!

* * *


	4. And the bloodbath begins

**Chapter Four: And the bloodbath begins **

**a/n: **I have to be honest with you… I don't really have much knowledge about hockey, and how to play it. This is the first time I'm writing something like this. I did a little research, though. Anyway, please forgive me for any inconsistencies on how it works.

* * *

The placed was packed and the crowd was lively. Everybody from Eden Hall Academy was there to watch the last game of the school year between their very own Eden Hall Ducks and its archrival the Blake Bears.

"Okay Ducks let's go huddle up, come on," Ducks Coach Orion shouted over the noise, waving his clipboard at them. They all surrounded him. "Remember, defense! Don't let them get in those shots." He looked at each one of them. "Okay everybody, hands in."

"Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, go Ducks!"

A buzzer sounded signaling the start of the first period.

Connie took her seat between Ken and Luis, and watched as Adam, Charlie, Russ, Fulton and Guy made their way on the ice.

"Go Julie!" She shouted as her best friend skated over the goal.

Adam took his place on the center ice. In front of him, jersey number 45 of the Blake Bears, glared. He pointedly ignored him.

"All right, gentlemen. Let's have a good, clean game of hockey." The referee blew his whistle before finally dropping the puck on the ice.

Adam wasted no time. With his quick reflexes, he easily won the face off. He stole the puck and quickly passed it off with a forehand to Charlie. He pushed the player in front of him and skated passed the blue into the attacking zone. Charlie passed it off to Guy, who then returned the puck to Adam. He continued his way to the goal. Two Bears were suddenly headed his way. Fulton appeared from behind him and checked one into the boards. The other one was still charging at him, though. He drop passed the puck to Russ, who was behind him, and dodged the charging Bear. Russ continued stickhandling the puck and waited for him to take his position.

"Over here! I'm open, I'm open!" Adam tapped his stick on the ice. He was barely five feet away from the net. Russ quickly sailed the puck to his direction and in one swift move, he sent it flying towards the goal.

The sirens blared and the crowd went wild. Adam Banks has scored the first goal of the game.

* * *

"Alright, that's it. Change it up. Averman, Conway, Tyler, get in here!" Orion shouted at his players. He waved to Charlie, Les, and Russ, opened the door, and then turned to his bench. "Portman, Robertson, and Banks, out there, now!"

The score was 3-0 in favor of the Ducks.

Charlie and Les skated over, both panting heavily, with Russ right behind them. It was only halfway into the third period, but the team looked so exhausted they were ready to collapse anytime. Guy sat on the corner, holding to his stick for support. Beside him was Luis, who didn't look as tired, but worn-out just the same. Connie was on the other side of the bench wiping her face, with Goldberg sitting to her right. Dwayne and Adam, who were sitting side by side with Goldberg, immediately jumped on the rink as soon as their three teammates came over. Russ immediately took a seat beside Luis and began cursing the other team. The only one who didn't look tired was Julie, their goalie. In fact, she looked bored. That was because most of the action happened on the other side of the rink.

Ever since Adam's goal during the first period, the Bears turned the game into nothing more than a wrestling match.

Charlie grabbed Dean's arm before he could skate away. "Make sure," he said, breathing heavily, "to nail them, _hard_. Especially that big enforcer of theirs: Clayton, number 25." He pointed to the big beefy player of the Bears. The guy looked as big as Portman, but at least twice as heavy. "He's been beating every one of us to death since the game started."

"Don't worry Charlie, I got it." Portman gave him a cocky smile and skated on the ice. "Hey big man," he shouted to the enforcer. "Why don't you show the Bash Brothers what you got?" Fulton skated over and stopped beside him. They gave each other high fives, before taking their position. Again, Adam was on the center ice, with Dwayne and Ken taking left and right wing, respectively. The Bash Brothers were on defense.

"I don't think I can feel my legs, anymore," Averman announced, falling to a seat beside Goldberg. He took off his helmet and grabbed his water bottle.

"Man, they must still be pissed about that loss the last time." Goldberg supplied, referring to the last game they had against the same team. The Ducks won that time, 5-4. A buzzer-beating goal by Charlie prevented what would have been a draw between the two teams.

The two of them winced as the big enforcer checked Dwayne – who was trying to get the rebound – into the board.

Meanwhile, Charlie staggered to the seat right beside Connie. "How long are they planning to keep this torture up?"

"Probably until the game ended." She handed him his water bottle.

"Thanks." He smiled at her gratefully. Charlie gulped down a generous amount of water and wiped off sweat from his eyebrows. "Hey, hey Adam, watch it!" He suddenly shouted.

Connie watched as two players from the other team shoved him hard to the floor. That got them a resounding 'boo' from the crowd.

Orion was on his feet, shouting instructions to his players. He paced back and forth, looking helplessly at them.

The Blake Bears were bludgeoning them to death.

"Those guys are maniacs," Connie said in disbelief. "They're not even trying to score anymore!"

"You mean murderers," Charlie's voice was dripping with anger. "They're swatting us like we're just a bunch of fucking flies."

All of the sudden, the Ducks erupted into cheers as both Fulton and Portman knocked down the big enforcer that has been terrorizing them all. The bash brothers have been throwing their weight around and taking down as many Blake players they can.

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

As soon as big man Clayton got up, he charged towards Ken and banged him to the board. He then quickly skated over to Dwayne and banged him too.

"Come on, Ref, call something!" Orion yelled. "They're not even playing hockey anymore!" He tossed his clipboard on the floor, looking more irate than ever. Apparently, the referee was looking the other way.

"Hey man, what's your fucking problem, huh?" Before any of his teammates could stop him, Portman skated over and shoved him.

The referee blew his whistle.

Clayton stood up. Dusted himself and laughed.

"Eden Hall Ducks, Number 21. Two minutes for roughing." The ref motioned Portman to follow towards the penalty box.

"Oh, oh, now that one you see."

The Ducks spun around and looked at their coach in astonishment.

The referee shot him a warning glare. Orion rubbed his head in frustration. "Moreau, Mendoza," he called them. "Robertson, Wu, change it up!" Connie and Luis stood up, and then picked up their sticks and helmets.

* * *

"Oh, look, they're sending in the mother goose again."

Connie turned her head to see Clayton circling her. "It's appalling, really," she snapped condescendingly, "you passing all those years of school without even knowing the difference between a goose and a Duck. How that happened totally eludes me." Connie shot him a withering look. "Oh wait, I forgot. That's what your daddy's money was for."

"Goose or duck, it doesn't matter." He stopped and took a step forward. "You don't belong here on the ice either way."

"Bite me – " Adam tugged her arm.

"Are you crazy?!" He hissed, dragging her away. "That guy's five times your size. Stop picking fights with him."

"Alright, alright," she answered dismissively. Clayton was dead wrong if he thought he could scare her away.

Never taking her eyes off the big oaf, she glided to her position. Clayton eyed her like a hawk.

The Ducks easily won the face off. Luis raced towards the attack zone with the puck. Faking his defender with a shoulder deke, he quickly sailed it to Connie. She then sent it to Fulton with a forehand.

"Connie, look out!" Adam suddenly called out from the other side.

She whirled around to see Clayton coming at her at full speed. Before she could get out of the way, he had already crashed her to the boards. Connie fell to the floor, totally winded. Adam skated over, totally ignoring the on-going game.

"Hey, ref, that's charging!" Orion shrieked from the bench. However, no violation was called.

"Are you alright?" he asked, pulling her up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered coolly. Connie skated off, and went back to the game, shaking off the pain. There was no way she was going to let them see she's hurt. Not in front of all these people. She was going to prove to that big goon that she belonged on the ice just as much as everybody else did.

Adam looked at her feebly and skated after her. He knew better than to push it. The one thing Connie hated the most was people underestimating her hockey skills. For the next couple of minutes, he did nothing but trail after her. During that time, the opposing team managed to put themselves on the board, scoring a goal. Clayton was still hot on her tail, and Adam made sure the enforcer didn't get too close to her.

Goldberg came in for Portman after his penalty ended.

The puck was in their defensive zone. The Bears then took another shot at the goal. Julie, however, made a fantastic save, and Luis went over to get the rebound. After clearing the puck, he then sailed towards Connie. She stickhandled it on the neutral zone before sending a lead pass to Adam, who then slap shot it to the goal.

She never saw the puck go in.

* * *

Ha ha, got you there on that one! ;P Tell me what you think!

* * *

**anne918: **wow, thanks! that's really great!!! glad you like it. :P

**Emily Henson: **lol! yeah, that would probably make it worse. i think he'll recover, though, with all that's in store for him. haha! ;P

**antiIRONY: **thanks! i'm happy you're liking it so far. :P


	5. Tell me where it hurts

**Chapter Five: Tell me where it hurts**

**a/n****: **Well, here's another chapter. I'm soooo sorry this took longer than it should have. I got caught up in some school work. Anyway, hope you enjoy! ;P

**Disclaimer: **Nope, don't own 'em.

* * *

"Connie, get outta there!" The whole team seemed to be screaming at her. She looked to see what the commotion was about. _Oh, shit! _What she saw made her blood freeze: Clayton and another Blake player were rushing after her. Fifteen feet… ten feet… five feet away. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Next thing she knew, the two players were crushing her to the boards with tremendous force. The strong impact caused the boards to shake. Gasps were heard all around. It was like being ran over by a truck, and she literally saw stars.

The buzzer sounded, indicating the end of the game. Ducks won, 4-1.

Connie tried to stand up, but almost immediately fell back to the ice. She clutched her ribs, wheezing, as a blinding pain took over her body. She shut her eyes as blood furiously pounded in her ears. She could barely hear her teammates fussing around her.

_Is she okay?_

_I am **so** going to maim that big fucking goon!_

_There he is, let's go!_

_Come on, let me see if she's alright!_

_Wait, stop pushing me, Dwayne!_

_She's not moving…_

_Oh no, is she dead?!_

_Shut the hell up, Goldberg! _

_Out of the way, out of the way! _

_Come on guys, give her some room to breath._

Connie felt two people flank her. There was a light tapping on her shoulders.

_Cons… Hey Cons, can you here me?_

She slowly opened her eyes, completely dazed. Blinking a few times, she then noticed Guy and Adam kneeling beside her. The whole team was crowding behind them. Well, not exactly everyone. Portman and Fulton were missing.

Concern was etched all over their faces, especially Adam and Guy.

"Come on, back off. Don't crowd her." They parted like the Red Sea, letting Coach Orion pass.

Guy cupped her face and looked at her in the eye. "Cons, you okay?" His voice was full of anxiety.

She nodded weakly.

"Moreau, are you sure you're fine?" Orion probed.

"I'm fine, coach. Just a little winded, that's all." Okay, so that one was a lie. Her side was hurting, terribly… but she wasn't going to admit that, not yet. At the locker room, maybe. Assuming, of course, that she could even make it there.

He seemed to consider her answer for a moment. "Alright, but let's get you check just the same. Banks, Germaine," he motioned to the two.

Without further being told what to do, they each took an arm and carefully helped her stand up. Her knees wobbled slightly. She quickly grabbed on to Guy's arm for support. "Hey, easy there." He whispered, steadying her.

"Thanks," she mumbled back.

"Hey, hey, stop that! Fulton, Portman, let's go!"

They all turned to see Fulton and Dean involved with a scuffle with Clayton. Both of them did not seem to hear Orion.

"I said let's go!" Orion repeated.

Finally, the two heeded his call and left the guy alone. Well, not without a last powerful shove that sent Clayton on the ice. Dean and Fulton skated away, muttering threats as they go.

"You all right, Connie?" Fulton asked her.

She gave him and Dean a weak smile. "Yes, I'm fine." The two were like the big brothers of the group. They have taken it to themselves to protect anyone from the team, especially Julie and Connie.

"Don't worry, Connie," Portman announced, cracking his knuckles. "We'll make sure we'll get him the next time."

Julie scoffed at his showing of testosterone. "You do realize that there won't be any game until the next school year starts, don't you?"

"So what, I could wait."

Connie laughed, a little. _Oww, that hurts! _She then saw something that made her stop. There, just past Portman's shoulder, was Clayton. He was sneering at her. It made her blood boil. _That son of a bitch. _

"Hey Cons, you sure you're okay? You look a little pale." Her best friend asked.

She answered without even looking at Julie. "Yeah, I'm fine, really." Quickly, she let go of Guy and Adam's arm and skated towards the locker room. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had hurt her.

As soon as they got off the ice, she followed the rest of the Ducks, ambling her way to the locker room. Guy and Adam were walking right beside her, and every so often would glance at her worriedly.

Connie's teammates were excitedly chattering about their upcoming trip as she trudged her way to her own locker. Every inch of her body screamed at her in pain, most especially at her side. She started to take off her jersey, but paused and clutched her chest. _That's funny. I don't remember putting my pads on so tight. _It was so tight it was suffocating her… or at least she thought. She tried to suck in some air and almost cried out in pain.

Something was stabbing her chest!

She tried again, breathing deeply this time, but the pain was still there. In fact, the more she tried to breath, the more painful it became. Connie frantically frisked herself, trying to find anything that might have explained the stabbing she was feeling. There was none. Not even a single trace on her jersey was present. By this time, breathing has become very laborious. Hardly any oxygen was entering her lungs. The room was spinning and darkness was slowly eating her vision.

"Connie, is there something wrong?" She wasn't sure who asked her that.

Her arms flailed as she tried to grab something, _anything_, to keep her from falling. _Must be Luis, or Ken…_ That was her last thought before everything went completely black.

* * *

She woke up with a start.

It took a moment for her to realize that she was in an unfamiliar room. The interior was completely white and almost bare, save for a chair and a side table. Connie looked around, before finally recognizing her surroundings. She was inside a hospital room.

How exactly did she get here?The last thing that she remembered was that something stabbing her chest. From there, everything just went fuzzy. She wrinkled her nose, and unexpectedly found something stuck to it. Her hand automatically went up to grasp it.

"Don't take it off. You need it to help you breath."

Her head snapped towards the door, startled. Guy was leaning against the doorway. He had a serious expression on his face.

"How are you feeling?" Guy strolled over and sat on the chair.

"I don't know…I guess my sides kinda hurt," she answered hesitantly, letting out a sigh. Connie touched her sides and quickly withdrew her arm. Yup, there was no doubt it hurt. "How did I get here in the first place?"

"You don't remember?" She shook her head slowly in response. "You collapsed inside the locker room, so we rushed you here. The doctors told coach that you suffered from a pulmonary contusion… courtesy of Clayton and his teammate, of course, when they checked to the boards. It was the reason why you suddenly had difficulty breathing."

"Oh." Connie looked at him blankly.

"'Oh'?" Guy echoed her. "That's all that you could say?" He asked, visibly annoyed at her stoic reaction. "How could you be so… indifferent about this?!"

"About what exactly, Guy?" She shot him a puzzled look.

He gave her a knowing look.

"Fine, what do you want me to say?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about 'sorry for acting incredibly stupid'?"

"Excuse me?" Connie glared at him. Now _she_ was starting get annoyed. _What the hell is his problem?_

"What you did this afternoon was totally stupid. You should have immediately told coach that you were hurt. Jesus, Cons, you could have died!" He exclaimed. "You were barely even breathing! Who knows what might've happened if we found you a couple of hours later than that. Good thing Luis was right there to catch you."

She let out a grunt. "We all know that these things are part of the game. Don't be so dramatic about it."

Everything had been part of the game. _Her _game… pretending that she wasn't jealous of the fact that everybody else on the team had grown bigger, stronger, and better than she had… pretending that everything was fine every time another player checks her, even during practices. Even the once scrawny Ken had grown, a lot. Now she was the scrawniest Ducks of them all. Julie would have been the exception since she was the goalie, but she was still a good couple of inches bigger than she was.

Yes, it was her game – she had been playing it since they entered Eden Hall Academy almost three years ago.

"I'm not being dramatic. I'm telling you how it is."

Connie smiled at him sarcastically. "I think this new version of 'I'm-glad-you're-fine' speech of yours needs some serious tuning, Guy."

"That stunt you pulled could have cost more than just bruises, Cons." He had an angry expression on his face. "I was worried sick! Everybody was!"

"Well, if worrying was too much for you, maybe you shouldn't have even bothered in the first place." She shot back.

"You know that's not what I meant." Guy responded quietly.

"Really? Well, you could have fooled me."

"That's not fair," he sighed. "I was just afraid I was going to lose you, Cons. It's not a great feeling, believe me."

"I think that little speech earlier kind of blew it for you." A look of hurt flashed in Guy's eyes. Almost immediately, she regretted saying that. "Look, I'm getting tired; let's not play this game right now, please."

"Right, whatever." He responded coldly, and shrugged.

Typical Guy…_That's great. Freeze me anytime now. _He would always freeze her up every time she would try to calm down the argument.

Connie bit back a retort when she noticed some movement behind him.

"Hi. I'm sorry, I-uh, didn't mean to interrupt." Adam was awkwardly standing by the doorway, holding the most beautiful bouquet of flowers she had ever seen.

* * *

Please, don't forget to write a review! thanks! 

* * *

**Anna: **hey there, thanks! i'm sure connie will be fine... for the moment. ;P

**Emily: **hi, emily! thanks! tell bruno it's okay, really. portman and fulton already had it covered! ;P


	6. Defending Guy

**Chapter Six: Defending Guy**

**a/n: **okay, so here's another chapter. don't forget to write a review. thanks, guys!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own 'em... although I really wish i do! ;P

* * *

Guy turned around to face him. "What are you doing here, cake-eater?" His tone was rather harsh.

"Stop it, Guy. Don't take out your anger on him." She gave her boyfriend a reproachful look. Connie motioned for him to enter.

"Fine, fine. Sorry about that, Banks." He let out a sigh, stood up and walked over to Adam. "I'll go look for coach, see if he has any news or something." Guy looked back at her and said goodbye. "I'll be back later."

Adam waited until Guy had left before he moved towards the chair. "I just thought I'd come and stop by to see how you were. I bought these flowers on my way." He smiled brightly at her.

Connie smiled as she took the flowers from him, "Thanks, they're beautiful."

Adam was probably the sweetest male Duck on the team… next to Guy, of course. Well, Guy doesn't really count since he's her boyfriend and all. Charlie was sweet – along with Ken and Russ, among others – but in a big brother kind of way. Even Luis was sweet, though it was more of a flirty kind of way. Portman and Fulton were sweet… okay, not really, but it was still different when it came to Adam.

"So, pretty exciting day, huh?"

Her smile quickly faded. "Oh no, please don't." She sighed, reading the expression on his face. "If you're here to recite that whole 'you-should-have-told-coach-we-were-so-worried' litany in front of me, save yourself the trouble. Guy was just here to do that."

"Yeah, so I've heard," he acknowledged with a nod, his smile faltering slightly.

Connie's eyebrow shot up. "How long were you standing there, exactly?"

"I wasn't spying, or anything!" He quickly clarified. "I just didn't want to interrupt the two of you, so I waited until you had finished."

She shot him a look.

"I might have been standing there for... a while."

"A while?"

"Okay, it was long enough for me to hear your whole conversation." He looked at her apologetically.

"Conversation?" She asked with a bitter laugh. "Argument, you mean."

Adam nervously played with the covers of her bed. "Well, he did have a point, Cons." As much as he hated taking his side, Adam knew that Guy was right. "It really was a little – " He caught Connie's evil look at him, as if daring him to say the word himself.

"What? Stupid? Brainless? Dumb?" Connie supplied. "Don't worry about the name-calling, Adam. You won't be the first one to call me 'stupid'. Guy had already claimed that honor."

" – silly." He finished, finally finding a word that sounded less harsh than the ones she used. "You didn't have to pretend to that big goon, and to the rest of the Ducks, for that matter. We would have understood. That was a pretty vicious check. Anyone would have been easily hurt."

"I wasn't about to give him that satisfaction." She muttered, adjusting her pillow. "Fine. Guy had a point, but did he have to point that to me so callously?" Connie ranted.

He knew it. This was going to turn into one of those 'talks' they have every time Connie and Guy had a fight. "Maybe he was just really upset. I mean he was worried about you. How would you feel if it was you who saw him like that? It's not a great feeling, Cons, like he said. You can't really blame him for acting like he did." _Gee, you really nailed it that time, Banks. What are you, Germaine's defense attorney all of a sudden?_

Why he was suddenly defending Guy, he had absolutely no idea. Maybe because what he said to her was true. If fate had only been kind to him, it would be the same things he would be telling her, as _her_ boyfriend. _Boy, oh boy. Did fate really screwed up that one._

Adam shook the thought off his head. This was not the right time to be sulking about that.

His comment made Connie pause. Not because he was actually defending Guy – which was weird in itself – but because it made total sense.

Oh and how she hated it!

"Who are you and what have you done to my Adam?"

He pointedly ignored her question and rolled his eyes.

"Great, now you can't even humor me? Just so you know, I'm beginning to hate you now." Connie declared half-jokingly. Where was the Adam who would always indulge her every time she whined about Guy? That Adam was nowhere in sight tonight.

Adam gave her a skeptical look and scoffed, "Yeah, right. You'd do that."

She groaned in frustration. "Since when did you start taking his side?!" Her eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm not taking any sides." Adam answered truthfully. "I just… know what he's feeling."

Yup, he knew exactly what Guy was feeling. When he saw her fall, Adam was just as worried as him. When it came to Connie, the two guys share every sentiment there was. Except, of course, Connie's affection. It was the one thing Guy enjoyed for himself, and Adam coveted the most.

"Julie was almost hysterical." Adam shook his head and gave a small laugh, before turning serious. "I wa – I mean, we were all really worried back there, seeing your like that."

Connie paused and sighed. She was being unreasonable to both men, and she knew it. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry," she said, finally conceding. "It's just that, Guy was not exactly making it easy for me… and I don't really need the same thing from you."

He nodded slowly. "Fair enough. I'm shutting up now."

She looked at him expectantly. Adam waved, as if signaling her to continue her ranting. Connie jumped on the opportunity. "You know, the least he could have done after calling me stupid was to tell me he's glad I'm okay. What kind of boyfriend wouldn't do that? I mean, you would at least do that to your girlfriend, wouldn't you? Who wouldn't?!" She went on and on.

"Tsk tsk tsk, and to think he already had several years of experience with this." Adam agreed with a smile. They were back in their usual banter. He liked it. It was comfortable, not to mention safe. The pretense of his friendship can hide any revealing emotion he might show. "Allow me to say it first, then. I'm really glad you're okay, Cons."

"Thanks," she answered, blushing slightly. Adam had been looking at her intently when he said it. His eyes were firmly fixed into hers. It was weird. None of the other Ducks would look at her like that, except for Guy. _Relax, Connie. It's Adam, your closest male friend, remember? There's nothing wrong with it._

The room fell into a comfortable silence, except for the sound of the machines attached to her. "So," she started, breaking the silence. "Where are the others?"

"They're back at the dorms. Orion ordered us to go home a couple of hours ago. I figured I'd sneak out and check in on you."

"And Coach?"

"I spoke to him outside a while ago. He was quite angry to see me, actually." Adam ran his fingers through his head. "I think he's still trying to contact your aunt."

Connie let out a snort. "Well, good luck about that. They're off somewhere in Australia. God knows where."

"Oh, I see." Adam was silent for a moment. "So-uh, where are you spending the summer?" _Don't say Guy's. Please do_** _not_ **_say Guy's! _

"I'll be spending it at Julie's."

_Yes, there is a god! _"That's great," he mumbled under his breath. Relief washed over his face. With that, at least he can't torture himself trying to figure out what she and Guy would be doing all summer.

That caught her attention, but Connie shrugged it off and stared at the ceiling. Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her. "Hey, how long am I supposed to stay here, anyway?" She asked, rubbing her them.

"They're keeping you for 24 hours, from what I heard. They want to make sure everything is back to normal before they release you." That time, Adam couldn't help himself from sounding jubilant. He was grinning from ear to ear, eyes twinkling.

She whipped her head towards his direction, and a perplexed look flashed on Connie's face for a second. There was no mistake that time. Adam had sounded and looked thoroughly pleased. Again, it was weird, but not in a freaky way. There were times when he would suddenly act like that, but she just can't figure out why.

Adam seemed oblivious to her sudden reaction.

Connie decided to let it go and instead gave an exasperated sigh. "That's great. Now I'll get to die of boredom instead."

"I said they were keeping you for a day, not a millennium." He rolled his eyes and laughed. "Just deal, Moreau."

* * *

Guy entered the visitor's lounge and found their coach talking with someone on the phone. He could only hear his side of the conversation, but from the looks on Orion's face, he could tell it was not good.

"Yes, yes, I know that. But come on, I – … I understand but… No, you can't do that… Let me figure out something… Fine. I'll see you at your office first thing Monday morning."

"Who was that, coach?" Guy asked as soon as Orion hanged up.

"That was the dean," he said with a frustrated sigh. "I think we may have some problems."

* * *

Reviews are always welcome. Thanks!

* * *

**Emily: **ha ha, to tell you the truth, i don't really care who got to him first! by the way, i'm sending Bruno a 'thank you' card. ;P

**The Artist Formerly Known as Q: **hey there, Quimby! thanks for taking the time to review my fic. you wrote quite a lot! :-) okay, first things first. thanks for the compliment. it actually means a lot, since English is just my second language. ;P second, sorry about that "Taylor" thing. yeah, I noticed, and changed it right away. just another case of carelessness. must have slipped my mind, I guess. anyway, i hope yo keep on reviewing. thanks again! ;-)

**antiIRONY: **thanks for your support! P i'm glad you're still enjoying the story.

**BeppeV**: hi there! thanks for your review. hope you keep on reading. ;P


	7. Flying Alone

**Chapter Seven: Flying Alone**

**a/n: **Okay, this is a rather long chapter, so please bear with me. By the way, I'm a sucker for details, so that means everything I put in here is here for a reason or another. ;P

**Disclaimer: **I'm tired of writing it so from now on...see first chapter, please. ;-)

* * *

"You wanted to talk to me, Coach?" Connie asked tentatively, entering Orion's office. She found him sitting on his desk reading something off a bunch of papers he was holding.

He looked up just in time to see her close the door gently behind her. "Yes, yes, come in, Moreau," he said, dropping the papers he was clutching. "Take a seat," Orion gestured towards the chair.

It was Monday morning, and school was officially over. Connie was in locker room with the rest of the Ducks. They were clearing their lockers, until the next school year started, when Orion peeked inside and told her to come to her office.

Connie promptly took a seat, but before Orion could even open his mouth to speak, she already found her throat getting dry. Coach Orion had a somber expression in his face; his fingers nervously tapped the table.

"Is something the matter, coach?" she forced herself to ask. She found his quiet demeanor unsettling.

Orion sat there for a moment, silent, before clearing his throat to answer. When he did, he went straight to the point. "The dean called – "

Blood drained from Connie's face. _The dean. _Orion had barely said three words, but it was enough to send her whole world crumbling. She did not need to hear the rest of it to see where this conversation was heading.

" – and inquired over last Friday's game_._ He expressed concern about the…_ incident_, and – "

Since the start, the dean had not been a fan of Connie Moreau. He had deemed her too small and too weak to belong to the physical and brutal world of ice hockey. Many times, he had made his protestations known to the Coach, but Orion wouldn't change his stance. He always stood by his side, saying that she was an integral part of the Ducks. However, seeing him now, she knew something was off.

" – _strongly_ recommend that I take some actions to avoid further similar occurrences." Orion intently watched, waiting for her reaction.

"Actions?" She repeated. "What kind of actions?"

He exhaled loudly. "I know this isn't going to be easy," he started, "but I'm afraid I have to cut your playing time in half."

"Cut my playing time in half?" She echoed, as if in a trance. Was she hearing him right? Did he really say he was going to cut her playing time in half? Connie sat there mutely, letting his words sunk in. _Cut my playing time in half?! _"B-b-but coach," she stuttered, looking at him as if he has suddenly grown another head, "that's insane! You can't do that! My playing time is already short as it is!"

"I know, Connie, but the dean is twisting my arm on this one." There was a hint of resentment in his voice when he mentioned the dean.

Her cheeks were turning red with anger. That bastard for a dean would do anything to take her off the team. "So he told you to do that?!" She demanded.

"No, I suggested it to him but – "

Connie glared at him.

"Listen, it was not as if I wanted to do it. It was the only way he was going to let me keep you."

"Keep me?! Where, exactly?!" She spat bitterly. Connie knew she was being disrespectful to their coach, but she didn't care. "On the bench?!"

"I'm really sorry, Connie." Orion apologized. "But he told me he would take it to the Board if I didn't do something." He massaged his head with both hands, and sighed. "He insists that he has only your own welfare in his mind."

"My_ welfare_ in his mind?!" She asked incredulously. "That's bullshit, and you know that!"

He was taken aback with her sudden explosion.

"You and I both know that the dean could only care less about my welfare, coach!" Connie yelled, rising on her chair. "What he really wanted was to take me off the team!" Without further saying a word, she angrily stomped out his office, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Moreau, wait," Orion stood up and called after her. "Connie!"

* * *

"So," Goldberg asked Guy, who was rummaging in the locker beside him, "what do you think coach is telling Connie?" He tossed some shirts inside his bag.

The rest of the Ducks continued putting away their stuff when Orion called Connie to his office. Dean and Julie were on the other side of room, biting each other's head off. They were arguing because Dean was asking, actually ordering, Julie to pack his stuff. Of course, Julie wouldn't agree, telling him to pack his own things. Russ and Ken, meanwhile, were exchanging tips about how to improve their trash talking skills for next school year's games. Across them, Luis was going on and on about how many girls they were going to meet in Hawaii, with Adam listening and silently stuffing his hockey bag. He would nod and laugh, occasionally, at Luis' remarks. Dwayne, on the other hand, was busy amusing himself, playing with a puck on one corner. Fulton and Charlie, standing right beside Goldberg and Guy, were debating whether or not Charlie's shirt smelled the nastiest.

Guy momentarily froze as he remembered Orion's phone call last Friday night. And from what he told him, he was almost sure that he was now telling Connie some bad news. "I don't know," he quickly answered, slamming his locker shut. He was holding some toiletries, and dumped them into his own bag. "The two of us aren't exactly on the best of terms yet."

"Again?" From across them, Averman piped up. "What did you do this time?" He was sitting on the bench, his bag already zipped up.

He looked at him defensively. "What made you think it was my fault?"

Everyone inside the room dropped everything they were doing and gave him a skeptical look. As always, all of them were half-listening. They seemed to have grown a very unique sense of hearing, alerting them whenever Guy would mention that he and Connie had an argument.

"Fine." He replied, looking at them hesitantly. "I kind of freaked out on her..."

"And?" Averman prodded.

"… and I might have called her stupid." He admitted sheepishly.

"You WHAT?!"

Everybody fell silent, and stared at the three of them.

"Would you care to repeat that, Guy?" Fulton, who was standing right beside him, asked.

He answered in a small voice, hoping Fulton would be the only one to hear it. "I said I might have called her stupid." _Damn._ He wasn't sure whether he swallowed a megaphone or there was a hidden microphone somewhere. Either way, his sentence seemed to reverberate loudly throughout the room.

Guy could feel ten pairs of eyes gawking at him in disbelief. Adam, who caught his eye, had quickly cast his downwards.

Charlie was the first to speak. "Geez, Germaine, and here I thought you couldn't possibly get any more stupid than the last time." He smirked, shaking his head in disapproval. "I guess you just proved me wrong."

"Yeah," Russ agreed with a laugh, and then paused. "Hey wait, Charlie! You owe me a ten!" He exclaimed with a grin.

"Darn it! Why did I ever mention that out loud?" Charlie snapped his fingers, remembering their bet. He wagered ten dollars with Russ, telling him Guy couldn't top that little stunt he pulled last month, when he auditioned for the part of Romeo on their school production of Romeo & Juliet. He got jealous when he learned about a kissing scene with Connie, who had gotten the lead role of Juliet. The audition turned out to be a disaster, and Guy ended embarrassing himself and Connie as well. She didn't talk to him for two weeks.

Charlie fished out ten dollars from his pocket and tossed it over to Russ, who was gloating in glee. As soon as the money left Charlie's hands, he glowered on the corner.

Meanwhile, from the other side, Portman called out. "That's really stupid, stupid!"

Julie gave him a disapproving look, but said nothing.

_She probably heard about it from Connie herself. _His cheeks started to turn scarlet red as every Duck expressed their disapproval.

Fulton groaned, "That's harsh, man."

"Guy must have gone _loco_," Luis muttered to Adam. Adam, on the other hand, remained silent. Instead, he pretended to poke around his bag.

Even Ken had something to say. "Tsk tsk tsk, you shouldn't have done that, Guy."

"Why would you call her that?!" Goldberg asked, tossing his bag on the floor. He had already finished fumbling through his locker, and now looking at him with a frown. "Are you on drugs, or something?"

"Yeah," Charlie agreed from the other side. He had stopped scowling and instead came up to him with a goofy grin on his face. "The only person who called stupid before was Peter, remember? When he said girls shouldn't play hockey?" He said, referring to their first encounter with Peter on the pond. "Connie socked him in the face so fast, that was the first and last time somebody called her that."

"Oh, so that's why she suddenly slammed the door to your face last night." Dwayne suddenly chirped. There was a lopsided grin on his face.

"Shut up, Dwayne." Guy replied, his hand automatically reaching up to touch his sore nose. "I said I freaked out, okay? I got scared... I was just really worried about her."

For the second time that day, the room fell silent.

**_Now _**_they decide shut up. _

Julie broke the awkward silence that fell on them. "I think we all were, Guy."

The rest of them mumbled in agreement.

Adam looked like he was about to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. He kept his gaze fixed on the floor, as if examining an intricate piece of artwork.

For almost five minutes, nobody had dared to speak and instead, busied themselves with their packing. When most of them were done, they began talking amongst themselves again.

"Are you sure your mom's okay with us staying over again?" Russ asked, taking a seat on the bench. "I mean, we've crashed there since Saturday."

"Sure. Don't worry about it; it's perfectly fine with her. Besides, it's only until tonight. Tomorrow morning we'll be on our way to Hawaii, and two weeks after that you'll be going home to your own homes." Charlie assured him. "Right?" He added as an afterthought, suspiciously narrowing his eyes at them.

Except for Fulton, Adam, Les and Guy, the whole team had been staying with Charlie for the past two days, until their trip.

"So are we meeting you guys at the airport, or do we need to come and meet you at your house?" Averman asked, ignoring him.

Charlie thought for a moment. "Nah, we'll probably run late if you meet us at our place. We'll just meet you at the airpo – "

The door suddenly blasted open. They all whirled around to see Connie marching towards her locker, visibly upset.

"Cons, what's wrong?" Guy asked quietly.

Connie ignored him completely, and started to hurl all her things inside her bag. Angrily.

All of them exchanged puzzled glances.

The door opened again and this time, it was their coach who stepped in. They directed their bewildered expressions towards him.

"Connie," he called her again, "trust me, it's the only way he'll let you back out there."

She gave a derisive laugh, her back still turned to him. "Yeah right, _coach._"

"Coach, what's going on?" This time it was their captain who asked.

Everyone shot him inquisitive looks. Connie whirled around and gave him a meaningful glare, waiting for him to answer them.

"The dean asked me to do something about Friday's incident, saying that the game was too dangerous for a girl like her," Orion finally answered, rubbing his forehead. "He agreed not to take her off the team, on the condition that I cut her playing time."

"Well, you might as well have taken me off."

"Think of it as you like, but I believe this is for your own good. I agreed to this not because I want to punish you, but because I don't want you to get hurt out there," he sincerely explained, "in as much as your teammates would."

Connie braced herself for her teammates' protests that she was so sure she would hear. How can they not back her up on this one? They're talking about hockey, for goodness sake! Hockey was her life! Her teammates knew that.

To her disbelief, and fury, not one of them spoke. _I can't believe this! _She looked at Guy, then Goldberg, then Dwayne. The rest of them had their eyes downcast. None of them were backing her up. They all seem to side with their coach.

"Thanks for your support, guys." She said sarcastically. "I always knew I had the best teammates in the world."

"Look, this isn't just about last week's game anymore." Orion stepped past Guy, who was looking guiltily at her. "Other teams would surely take advantage of your size out there, not only those Bears. And that'll be dangerous."

"It might come as a surprise to all of you but being the smallest player on the team, and a girl at that, doesn't mean that I lack the skills to play hockey with the others."

"I think," Charlie spoke up in a calming voice, showing them again why he was the captain. "That Coach Orion had a point, Cons. None of us would want to see you hurt. And it doesn't mean you won't get to play anyway. You're still part of the team."

Most of them nodded in agreement.

"Team?! What team?!" She asked, her voice dripping with contempt. "The way things are going in here, I'm not part of any team! I don't even see a single Duck in here." Connie grabbed her bag and started for the door when a different voice spoke.

"She's right," Adam, who had suddenly found his voice, stepped forward. Everyone turned their attention to him, including their coach. Connie froze, but didn't look up.

He had barely said a word the whole time they were there that he actually took them by surprise when he finally did.

"We've all been playing since we were kids. We've all seen what she can do. Whatever she may lack in size, her talents on the ice make up for it." He looked at each one of them, straight in the eye. "Out there on the ice, she's quick, she's agile… she's a Duck."

Charlie was biting his lip. Guy only stared at him intently, his expression unreadable. The rest of the team was looking uncomfortably at him.

"We're all supposed to be Ducks. And ducks fly together." He gave them one last angry look. "Why would now be any different?"

Everybody was speechless. Nobody expected an outburst from him.

Connie turned her head slightly, glancing at Adam, before storming out of the room, dragging her hockey bag with her.

Adam followed suit, grabbing his bag, and also stormed out, slamming the door loudly behind him.

Charlie and the rest of the Ducks could only stare helplessly at the two.

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There you go! Please don't forget to write a review! thanks. ;-)

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**Emily: **haha, i'm glad Bruno liked the card. Poor Adam, looks like he's going to get a good beating from Bruno this time! ;P


	8. Friendly' Offer?

**Chapter Eight: 'Friendly' Offer?**

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**a/n:** so sorry this update took so long. i got caught up with school work. anyway, here's the next chapter. enjoy! ;P

**disclaimer:** see chapter 1 ;p

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"Hey, Connie, wait up," Adam called out after as soon as she charged out of the building.

But Connie didn't seem to hear him, much less care, actually. Who can blame her? There were too many things going in her mind right now to care. Everything just seemed to be falling into pieces... hockey, Coach Orion, her teammates…

She was half-expecting to see everybody jumping from behind a bush yelling 'Gotcha!', as if it was some kind of bizarre cosmic joke. Then they would all laugh it off.

Only trouble was, she still wasn't on the floor laughing her ass off.

Three days ago, her life was perfectly fine. Then everything just went into a tailspin after that last game. All of a sudden, she landed in a hospital, had a spat with Guy, the dean basically ordering her to ride the pine pony, and just a few minutes ago had a falling out with the rest of the team. She felt so… betrayed.

Yes, _betrayed_ would be the perfect word to describe it.

Of all the people, it was the Ducks she expected to stand by her side – Ducks, as in plural, not just Adam. What was worse, Guy just stood there, and never said a thing. _He never said a thing! Not one even one word. _

She continued her furious stride, half-carrying, half-dragging her bag, and angrily brushed away the tears in her eyes.

* * *

Adam swung his hockey bag on his shoulders and frantically ran after her, bursting through the double doors, calling out again, "Connie!" He blinked a couple of times. The sudden flash of sunlight on his eyes blinded him temporarily. When his eyes adjusted, it didn't take him to see her marching angrily, albeit aimlessly, across the school grounds. Although Connie didn't turn around to face him, she noticeably slowed down a little, just enough for him to be able to catch up. He broke into a sprint, hurrying after her.

"Connie," he said breathlessly as he fell into a step behind her. "Look, I just want to say I'm sorry about what happened. The dean had no right doing that."

"I really appreciate your support, Adam," she continued to trudge, not bothering to look at him. "But I really want to be alone right now."

"Wait – "

"It's called a walk out, if you haven't seen one," she snapped at him, still without looking up.

"Yeah, but – "

"And its whole point," she cut him off again, "is being able to storm off, without the trouble of someone actually stopping you."

"But Connie, where exactly are you going?" He asked forcefully, finally stringing his sentence together.

His question made her stop for a moment, and Adam stepped beside her. "I don't know," she answered curtly, then continued walking. "Somewhere… anywhere!"

Now that Adam had mentioned it, where exactly was she going?

Connie again stopped dead on her tracks, turned around, glared at him and said, "I really hate you, Adam Banks." Adam abruptly stopped and looked at her, flabbergasted.

A couple of students was strolling nearby, gave them curious glances and whispered with each other. They were probably wondering why the two of them were arguing right there at the front gate of the Academy.

Adam and Connie stared silently at each other, seemingly oblivious to them. Her deep, rugged breaths punctuated their otherwise quiet surroundings.

Much to her dismay, Connie found her anger ebbing away, fading with each deep breath she took. It was a simple question. Yet she could feel its weight, bearing down heavily on her. _I don't want to go home on an empty house… but I don't think I want to stay with the rest of the team. I'm not ready to face them… _

"You really know how to ruin a walk out, you know that?" She finally said with a heavy sigh. She started walking again, this time slowly, towards the bench on the bus stop. Adam followed her, and both fell into a seat next to each other. __

He looked at her and managed a nervous smile. "Sorry, it's just…I was…" he didn't bother finishing his sentence. "Well, where exactly?"__

"I don't really know," she answered slowly. "Both my aunt and uncle are out of the country, and there is absolutely NO way I'm staying at their house for the summer all alone. But then after that scene at the locker room, I'm not exactly keen on staying with the rest of the team either." Connie stared off contemplatively. "I could stay in a motel, or something. I mean, they did leave me some money…" she trailed off.

Before Adam knew what he was saying, words were already spilling out of his mouth. "You could always stay with me, you know." As soon as he said those words, he wanted to smack himself. Adam knew he was treading on dangerous waters. _Well, I might as well do. I can't take it back._ He took a deep breath, mustering all the courage he could get._ Let's just wish I wouldn't fall into neck-deep water on this one. _

"You mean at your house with your parents?"

"Well, no. Both my parents are in L.A. on a business trip." He tried reading her face for any negative reaction, but there was none. "And I won't be exactly staying at the house, anymore..."

Adam noticed the curious look she gave him and hastily explained. "They just sent me the key to my very own apartment this morning. It was supposed to be a birthday present, but gave it three weeks earlier, anyway." He gave her look an encouraging look, but just enough so that he wouldn't appear too eager at the idea. "I mean, wouldn't it be fun? You get to stay in Minnesota. We could hang out… it'll be just like old times."

She went silent for a moment. His stomach gave a nervous jolt. Adam could she that she was seriously mulling over on his offer. "Well, I guess it's okay," a smile was slowly spreading on her face. "Sure! Why not? It does sound fun."

"Great! I guess it's settled, then," he exclaimed – barely containing his glee – just as a bus pulled over in front of them. They both boarded, bags slung over their shoulders. "The apartment's just downtown. We could pick up your things at Charlie's house on the way." Adam was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes shinning.

_Summer wouldn't turn out to be so bad, after all._

* * *

"Did that just happened?" Averman asked stupidly. A couple of minutes had already passed and Orion had since gone out of the room, but the rest of the Ducks were still staring at the spot where Connie and Adam once stood.

"Unless you had your glasses off, yeah, that really happened." Goldberg answered.

"I've never seen her so angry like that," Julie quietly said from the other side of the room. "...Except that time when her parents died."

Everybody nodded in agreement, remembering what happened two years ago. During that time, Connie had been an emotional wreck, which – and they all agreed – was perfectly understandable.

"Have we really done the right thing?" Luis suddenly spoke up. All eyes turned to him. "Don't you think Adam was right, with what he said about Connie?"

"Yeah… but Orion had a point." Charlie countered. "With players like Clayton, she would be a sitting duck out there. Do you really want that to happen?"

"But Charlie," Russ said, looking at him then at Fulton, then back at him. "Isn't that being selfish?"

"So you'd rather her smashed up against the boards? Is that what you're saying?" Dean shot back. "How 'bout I smash you into one right now? See how you like that."

"That's not what he meant, Dean." Julie answered him, and flashed Russ an understanding look.

It was Fulton's turn to speak. "We're her friends, and we are putting our own personal concerns over her." He looked at them earnestly. "We want her to stop playing just because we're worried something terrible might happen to her. That's being selfish because, guess what, we don't have the right to do that."

"I guess we could have shown her support, like Adam did…" Ken said thoughtfully.

All this time, Guy had been sitting quietly in one corner. He bit his lip, showing no signs that he was even paying attention to the rest of them. Doubts were swirling in his head, and he was asking the same questions. Did he do the right thing? He knew, since they were kids, how much Connie loved hockey. And agreeing with Orion like that, wasn't he, in effect, taking away her happiness? Would he really like that? _But_ _I just don't want to see her hurt, _he reasoned with himself. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Hey, what do you think, Guy?"

_Am I really being selfish?_

"Guy?" Goldberg called again, pulling him from his thoughts.

"What?"

"Were you even listening to the words we said?"

"Uh, no. Listen, I'll catch you guys later, ok?" Guy suddenly stood up, grabbed his bag and dashed out of the room, leaving the rest of the team staring after him. He burst out of the building and made a mad dash for it. Where he was going, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he had to find Connie and talk to her. They really need to sort this out.

His eyes furiously scanned his surroundings. He whirled wildly around, searching for her. Finally, he spotted a familiar-looking brown-haired person by the bus stop. It was Connie. He broke into a run. She was boarding the bus together with a blond person. She was boarding the bus with…

…_Adam?!_

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Please, don't forget to write a review! Thanks, guys!

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**Emily: **Lol! I'd do it personally, you know, shove a puck down his throat, but since I'm flooded with work as it is, I guess the dean just had to wait. ;P Wait, maybe bruno can do it.

**antiIRONY**: Oh please, do us the favor! I'm sure Connie will thank you for it. ;P

**Dear Aunt Elladora: **Aha! Up until now, everybody has been asking me to keep it Connie/Guy, but then you came along. Well, now that certainly changes things, doesn't it? P lol! anyway, thanks. i hope you keep on reading, because it can still go either way. P


	9. Getting cozy

**Chapter Nine: Getting Cozy**

**A/N:** Okay, before you start throwing knives at me, I have a perfect- _:ducks a mean-looking almanac instead:_ explanation. Yes, I know it's been ages since I've last updated this fic and I'm really sorry 'bout that… I guess I could say I've bitten off more than I could chew. It's really hard juggling six major subjects, a research paper AND this fic, not to mention exams every other day... that's why I've decided to put this on hold for a while, until I have a free time to do it. And I'm not really regretting doing that, because all my hard work paid off. I got accepted to this medical school I've been dreaming of, and I'm starting my first term in a couple of months. Woo hoo, go me! Lol:P Frighteningly enlarged ego aside, I'm glad to say that I've finally found the time to update this story. Although for how long, I'm not sure. So I'll just try to finish this story before school starts, then I'll just post them one by one… Remember, the keyword being "_try_".

Finally, I just would like to say a million thanks to all those who gave their reviews, even though I haven't updated in a while. I admit, I was kinda losing hope with this story, but then your reviews made it all worthwhile... :-) thanks!

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**Disclaimer:** Really, there's no point writing this story if I owned them, wouldn't it? I mean, I'd rather be off somewhere with these guys rather than spend hours on my computer writing stories about them. ;P

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"Oh. My. God." Connie exclaimed breathlessly as Adam pushed open the doors to his new apartment and let themselves in. 

"You could say that again," he replied in the same awestruck voice as Connie, letting their bags slid down on the floor.

She inched her way towards the couch as Adam closed the door behind him. "Nice place your parents gave you. Very, uh, spacious."

"Yeah," he answered absentmindedly, surveying the place. "I think it's compensation for not being around much anymore."

"So, do any of the Ducks know about this place?"

"No, I haven't got the chance to tell them yet."

Adam made his way through towards the end of the hallway, where he found three doorways. He peeked inside each one of them. No doubt the large room on his left was supposed to be his room, with a king-sized bed right in the middle. The small room on the right had some books and a desktop computer, and it was all set up to look like a small office, or study room. The door directly on the end of the hallway revealed a spacious bathroom, complete with all the toiletries one would need.

"Hey, I found the bedroom," he called out from the hallway. "You could set your things there now, if you want." He emerged from the hallway and made a motion to towards the rooms. "It's at the end of the hallway to the left. Bathroom's just straight ahead."

"Wait, this is your apartment. Shouldn't you be the one taking the b-"

Adam cut her off with a dismissive wave. "What? I'm not letting you sleep on the couch. Besides, I find couches much more comfy than beds." To prove his point, he strode over and plopped down comfortably next to her, grinning.

"But-"

He held up his hands. "No buts."

Connie saw that there was no way she was going to win this argument with him. "Fine, you win. I'll take the bed." She finally conceded with a smile. "Um, thanks again for letting me stay here. This really means a lot to me."

"Well, what are friends for?" _Liar. _Adam swallowed hard, smile slightly faltering. He really wished that small nagging voice in his head would just shut up. "So, uh, what's the plan? What about the others? I mean, Charlie and the team… the trip tomorrow…"

"I'm not sure, really," she admitted with a sigh.

"Oh." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "As in you're not sure you want to take that trip tomorrow with the rest of the team?" His heart was hammering at his chest, hoping that she wouldn't notice the slight sound of anticipation in his voice.

"Well yeah, actually. I just… don't know." She admitted, casting him a sideway glance, hoping to see his reaction.

Adam, keeping a straight face, took time to consider his response. "Well," He slowly answered, "you don't have to, you know, if you really don't want to. We could just stay here, if you want." _This is not right. Nope, not right at all. _His insides screamed at him and alarm bells were ringing all over.

"No, I don't think so," Connie quickly answered, rebuking his suggestion.

For a split second, a look of disappointment crossed his face, which quickly disappeared just as fast. Adam stole a quick glance to see if she noticed.

Fortunately, she was oblivious, and continued. "I mean, I'm not making you miss that trip just because of me. I've caused enough trouble already."

"To tell you the truth, I was actually thinking of skipping that trip anyway. I thought maybe this was the chance to spend more time on the ice. You know, work on my moves."

While that wasn't exactly the truth, it wasn't exactly a lie, either. Yes, he did think about skipping that trip, but not for the reason he just stated. It was more of avoiding those tortuous feelings he felt every time he sees Connie and Guy together. Not to mention, the romantic setting of Hawaii was like rubbing rock salt to his already wide open wounds.

Connie flashed him a hesitant look, before finally saying, "Well, let me think about it."

* * *

"It's just ringing. No one's answering," Charlie finally said, setting down the phone. The rest of the Ducks had already crammed inside his house. It was late afternoon, and they had been trying to contact Adam in his house. 

"Must be the butler's day off," Julie suggested.

"Are you sure it was Adam you saw leaving with Connie?" Fulton, who was sitting on the floor, asked.

Guy nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was him."

"I don't really see what's there to worry about." Russ spoke up from across the room. "I mean, you said it yourself, you saw her with Adam. How safe could she get? Cake-eater's like the poster boy for that."

The rest of the team mumbled in agreement.

"Yeah, but it's not like her to just take off like that."

"Don't sweat it, Guy. Maybe she just needs to cool off." Ken assured him.

"No doubt about that." Luis chirped in from the other side of the room. "Anyway, there's no way those two won't show up tomorrow."

Dwayne piped up. "That's for sure. There'd be no better person to calm her down - " Julie shot him a withering glance, which certainly did not go unnoticed.

"-Except for Julie, of course." He continued, quickly correcting his sentence. "But I'm just saying, you know, because well, he does that pretty often."

Guy knew the silence that followed was unintentional and meaningless, but it still unnerved him. Finally, he who broke the silence. "I guess you guys are right," he said with a sigh. He stood up, "I'm just gonna… I'll just.. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Without further saying a word, Guy Germaine left, feeling no less better than he felt hours ago.

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Alright, time to be honest. Just tell me if I should continue on with this or not... I'll stop if I'm not making any sense to you guys... That's okay since I still haven't made up my mind about who ends up with who on this... 


	10. Breakfast of the champions

**Chapter Ten: Breakfast of the champions**

**A/N: **Here's another chapter guys. Hope you enjoy:P

**Disclaimer: **Nope, not mine.

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"What time is it?" Guy asked for what seemed like the millionth time. 

Charlie rolled his eyes and motioned towards Julie, silently mouthing "Your turn," at her.

"Two minutes since the last time you asked," she answered Guy, in a slightly exasperated tone. "And would you please sit down? You're making me dizzy."

Portman, who was seated beside her at the moment, looked worriedly at her before turning to Guy. "Dude, you better stop that. I don't want her barfing her lunch all over me later."

Julie shot him a venomous glare, but kept silent.

People were bustling all around them, trying to get on their flights on time, while the team waited for theirs. All of them were getting anxious, but Guy was at a totally different level. He started asking for the time every ten minutes when they were having breakfast. Then it got down to five once they reached the airport. Now barely an hour before their flight, he seemed to be asking for it every time he turned.

It was driving everyone crazy. Charlie, who was seated right across Julie and Dean, was at first fairly tolerant at his behavior. But after an hour of it, he furiously removed his wrist watch, and shoved it deep in his duffel bag. Ken and Luis had resorted to frequent trips to the bathroom just to escape, and when that excuse finally ran thin, they volunteered to stand guard by the flight schedule screen, promising to inform them of any changes. Before anyone could protest, they hurriedly stormed off and stood at least fifty feet away from them.

Dean tried a different approach. He had brought out his player and sat there as loud music blasted through his ears. After a while he realized that this technique wasn't going to work, he grudgingly replaced it back in his backpack and glowered at Guy, hoping that he looked intimidating enough to discourage any questions to be thrown his way.

All of them had tried different tactics, but each one failed just as the ones before. When it became apparent that none would work, except of course for Luis and Ken's genius ploy, everybody gave up.

There was simply no deterring Guy Germaine.

"How many minutes more do you think it would take for him to wear the carpet thin?" Fulton muttered loud enough for the rest of them to hear.

"At the pace he's going, I'd give it another ten," Russ answered with a smirk. "Twenty if he keeps it down to ten steps per turn."

Goldberg sniggered. "The way he's acting, you'd think he's expecting twins."

There was a collective snort, as the rest of the team watched Guy paced back and forth in front of them.

Guy, on the other hand, was blissfully ignoring them. "What's taking them so long? Shouldn't they be here by now? They're going to miss the flight." His ramblings, however, were abruptly interrupted by a flight announcement.

_**Northwest Airlines Flight 311, bound for Honolulu, Hawaii, is ready for boarding. All passengers please proceed to gate 35.**_

All of them looked up to see Ken and Luis hurrying towards them. "Guys, that's us. That's our flight. Let's go." Luis declared, gathering his things.

When Guy heard that, he suddenly exploded. "But what about Connie! I just can't leave her here!"

Julie and the rest of the team were suddenly stopped dead as some curious passengers glanced their way.

"You might want to repeat that a little louder, Guy. A little more and I think Connie would've heard you." Averman observed.

Here was one of the varsity division's leading forwards, in full panic mode, and near hysterics. In front of throngs of complete strangers, no less. "But you guys said they'll definitely be here!"

Everybody seemed to ponder for the right response for moment.

"You're right," Julie finally said with a dejected sigh. "We just can't leave those two, you guys." She plopped back down on her seat. One by one, all of them did the same.

"Bu-but we can't _not_ go!" Dwayne sputtered. He was the only one to express his objection. "We've been planning this for months, y'all!"

"Shut up, Dwayne!" Fulton hissed, but he too sported the same defeated look as everyone else.

The bubble of panic inside Guy seemed to instantly disappear as soon as he saw the disappointment on his friends' faces. Guilt was slowly making its way over. Was he being selfish again? The entire team _had _been planning this for some time now, and everyone was really looking forward to it. Now when the time came they suddenly can't go because he decided to have a little rant.

"No, I'm sorry. Dwayne's right. I can't do that to you guys." He told them guiltily.

If Connie was still pissed about yesterday – and it sure looked that way – then maybe they do need to give her some time off. _I'm making the right decision here... right?_

But the rest of the team was already in a celebratory mood. Portman and Fulton gave each other high fives, and made a bee line for the gate with Goldberg and the rest.

Russ grinned at him triumphantly, slinging his arm over his shoulder. "Relax, Guy. If they can't catch up with us now, then they'll probably catch another flight. Isn't that right, Charlie?"

But Charlie remained silent and instead gave him an apprehensive look.

Hearing no response from Charlie, Guy turned around sharply and narrowed his eyes at him.

Fortunately, he was quick to recover, and in an instant, the expression was gone and in place was a reassuring look. "I nodded," Charlie hastily assured him, nodding his head vigorously in the process.

* * *

A warm streak of sunlight on her face prompted Connie to open her eyes a little bit. And for a moment, she was at a complete loss on why suddenly her dorm room looked entirely different. The room was very masculine… definitely not hers. She blinked hard a couple of times, trying to shake the cobwebs of sleep from her brain. It was then that she remembered her little 'arrangement' with Adam. Connie gingerly sat up, rubbing her eyes together, and glanced on the table clock. _8:35am,_ it read. She then headed outside for the bathroom to fix herself. Emerging a few minutes later, she trudged towards the kitchen only to find Adam already wide awake, setting up breakfast on the table. 

"Hi," Adam greeted her. "I didn't know what you want for breakfast, so I figured why not a little bit of everything." He said, as he set down a plate of bacon and eggs on the table. There was also a plate of French toasts, a box of cereals, and some hash browns already set, as well as two tall glasses of orange juice.

"I didn't know you can cook," Connie asked, barely containing the astonishment on her voice. She walked over, sat down, and started to nibble on a piece of French toast.

He smiled at her sheepishly and answered, "I can't. I just bought these from that diner across the street."

She gave a small laugh as she finally saw discarded brown bags sticking out from the garbage bin. "Well, it certainly works for me," she replied cheerfully.

* * *

Adam's smile grew a little wider as he settled himself across Connie. He had been a nervous wreck since he went to bed last night. He could barely sleep, lying there for a few hours and wondering about the succeeding days to come. Miraculously, Adam had managed to fall asleep just before dawn, and when he finally woke a few hours later, his heart was pounding fast. Cursing himself silently, he had quickly rummaged around the kitchen to take care of that day's first order of business: breakfast. Or more accurately, lack thereof. So in record time, he had changed out of his pajamas, rushed towards the diner across the street, and got them ready just in time for Connie to wander into the kitchen. 

His greeting almost never made it out of his throat as Connie emerged, still in her pajamas. She was wearing a gray tank top and some dark pajamas, and her hair lazily pulled up with a scrunchie.

Adam didn't know anyone could look so beautiful so early in the morning. _Oh god, stop staring at her before she sees you, damn it!_ He quickly averted his eyes and busied himself with the plates.

When Connie had asked whether he actually cooked breakfast, he had almost instantly regretted admitting his lack of culinary skills. Her reaction, however, was enough to make his heart flutter, and think otherwise.

"So," he started after a few minutes of comfortable silence. "How are you planning to waste the day away?"

"Well, let's see… We could," Connie paused to think for a second. "Rent a couple of movies, or go fishing on the lake… or… Oh oh, hey, we could take one of those road trips!" She suddenly exclaimed, her eyes shinning with glee. "Like, uh a trip to the mountains, or-"

"-a trip to the airport-" Adam teased.

"-or to the hospital, after I whack you with my stick-"

"-or not-"

"Good for you." She heartily agreed.

Both of them had ended up bursting into laughter, but Adam knew there was still much more to be addressed on that issue. Later, perhaps. But for now, he was in complete content just making Connie smile.

* * *

Alrighty! That was quite long, wasn't it? 

**White Artemis, koi, banksiesbabe99, Emily Henson, yours-truly and hockey-girl90** – thank you very much for your vote of confidence! I really appreciate it!

Anyways, please don't forget to write a review! Thanks!


	11. Of phone calls and water fights

**Chapter Eleven: Of phone calls and water fights**

**A/N: **Okay, here's the correct version of the story with the few notes at the end... sorry 'bout earlier..

* * *

Connie turned her head slightly in both directions, making sure she had braided her long brown hair properly.

During breakfast, Adam had mentioned that there was a hockey rink about ten blocks from the apartment. Since they had still not decided what to do that day, he suggested that they go there instead. Connie had quickly agreed.

A short debate about who should use the bathroom first soon followed, and in which Connie had won – she insisted that Adam go first, reasoning she'd probably hog the bathroom for at least an hour.

Taking one last look at the mirror, she then grabbed her backpack and dashed towards the living room.

"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. Let me just grab my stick, and we could…" Connie paused, seeing Adam quickly cutting off his phone call and looking at her, quite surprised. "…get going. Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Adam mumbled, his eyes shifting from her to the phone he was holding.

"Well, who were you calling?"

"No one," his answer came quickly.

She made no reply, but instead raised an eyebrow at Adam who was gazing on the floor boards, as if suddenly finding it very interesting.

With a defeated sigh, he set down the phone and looked guiltily at her. "I was trying to call Charlie's house," he admitted. "I just remembered that I haven't even given him the number here yet." he explained to her. "I know they'll want to check up on you."

Connie just shook her head. "I know you mean well, Adam, but –"

"You have to talk to them sooner or later, Cons." Adam said quietly.

"I know, it's just…" she let out a frustrated sigh, "I can't, not now. I – I need some time off… to think." Connie looked at him pleadingly. "I'll deal with them after they get back from their vacation. But until then, I just want to forget about everything… everyone… Please?"

Adam remained quiet, obviously deep in thought.

She studied his expression, and for a moment, it looked like he was going to protest. But after a second or two, he finally conceded, albeit hesitantly.

"Fine, you win," he replied, holding up his hands in defeat as Connie grinned at him.

"You're can be impossibly stubborn sometimes, you know that?" Adam whined lightheartedly as he made a move towards the closet to retrieve their hockey sticks.

"So I've been told." She answered, rolling her eyes. "And you can be a real pushover sometimes."

"Hey, that's not fair," he countered indignantly, emerging from the closet with their sticks. Adam handed out hers. "I only agreed because you were giving me the _look_!"

Connie looked at him in bewilderment. "What look? I wasn't giving you any look!"

"Oh come on, how many times have I seen you give any of the Ducks that look." He grabbed his backpack on top of the table.

"But-"

"You better stay out of trouble, Moreau," Adam chastised her playfully as he ushered her out of the apartment. "or eleven pairs of arms will be lunging for my neck if they as much as see a single scratch on you."

"But I wasn't-"

"And don't give me any more of those looks!"

Connie watched, dumbfounded, as Adam marched towards the elevator and pressed the down button. It took a moment before realization hit her. "But that wasn't even my puppy dog eyes yet!" She called out with a huge grin on her face, running after him.

* * *

"Hey Guy, a little help here!" Charlie called over the cheerful shouts of his friends. He waved his hands frantically at Guy, who was currently busy sulking underneath one of the coconut trees. "The Bash Brothers are creaming us! Come on, we-"

The rest of his words got cut off as he got caught with a face full of water.

"Nice try, Spazway, but I don't think any reinforcement is coming!" Portman launched another water attack on their captain, before laughing triumphantly. "Yeah, Bash Brothers rule!"

Fulton and their not-so-little-anymore bash brother Ken let out a hoot and continued an all-out offensive on Charlie and his teammates.

On the other side of the vicious water fight, Charlie, Luis and Dwayne were trying their best not to swallow as much water as the other team was splashing their way.

"Stop screaming like a girl, Dwayne, and just hit 'em!" Luis was yelling.

"W-wait, guys, s-stop," Dwayne sputtered, holding out his arms in front of his face. "I'm drowning!" He yelled dramatically, coughing out water.

The water fight suddenly ceased, and he gratefully took the moment wipe his face. When he finally looked up, he found all five looking at him curiously.

He stared back at them blankly. "What?"

"Dude, you can't drown just standing on three feet of water," Fulton exclaimed, looking at him as if he'd grown another head.

"Oh."

And before any of them could either attack, Dean and Ken were already sending waves towards the three.

"Arrgh!" Dwayne exclaimed as he got another mouthful of water.

Guy watched them from his place silently, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"How long are you exactly going to mope around there, Guy?" Julie questioned, coming up from behind him.

He turned his head slightly to find the Cat Lady standing beside him, gazing towards their other friends. "I just don't feel right about it, you know." He admitted, keeping his eyes towards Charlie and the others. "I'm worried about her, Jules. We haven't heard a single word from the two of them. What if-" Guy stopped short, and instead turned his head to face her. "Aren't you worried about her? I mean, you're her best friend."

"Her _female _best friend," she corrected him. "If you haven't noticed, there's still Charlie and, of course, Adam."

"Oooh, talking about the Connie-meister, huh?"

Julie and Guy both turned to see Averman, who was jogging towards them.

Julie raised an eyebrow. "What happened to Goldie and Russ? I thought you were going to 'score some babes'." She smirked.

"Ditched them. I figured I'd just wait for Luis, you know, 'cause he's more of the ladies' man around here." He motioned towards the direction of Goldberg and Russ, who were standing by the shore fifteen feet away from them.

"Don't worry, Charlie," Russ was shouting over, "Goldie's got your back! Just one cannonball from him and it's a guaranteed wipe out!"

Goldberg, who was standing proudly beside him moments ago sharply turned around and glared at him. "Hey, I resent that!"

"Well, if the shoe fits…" but Russ didn't finish his sentence and instead scampered towards Charlie's side of the fight. Goldberg was hot on his tail.

"See? They were really cramming my style," explained Averman as the three of them watched the other two join the fight.

"Listen, Guy," Julie began, going back to the topic about her best friend, "I can understand why you're worried, and I'm sure the rest feels the same way too. But knowing Connie, I think she just needs to blow off some steam for a few days. I'd be upset too, especially with the team, if I were in her position." She told him in all honesty.

Averman was nodding fervently in agreement.

"So you're not worried about her?"

"Hey, if being with Adam Banks is not safe enough, then I don't know what is."

Guy gave her a little smile. "You're not just saying that because of that thing you had for him four years ago, are you?"

There was an unexpected thwack on his head.

"Hey, ouch, that hurt," he exclaimed, his hand automatically feeling up his head. Guy looked at her accusingly.

"I'm sorry, my hand must've slipped," Julie answered coolly, crossing her arms in front of her.

Beside her, Averman was trying hard not to laugh at him. "Don't let Portman hear you, or his fist might 'slip' too," He warned him.

"Well, I just wish I know what she's been doing all this time." Guy reverted back into his morose self. "I hate it that we left her back there."

"I wouldn't worry if I were you, Guy. Cat Lady here is probably right." Averman assured him. "For all we know, the two of them are having a blast themselves." He started a litany of all the possible things Adam and Connie might be doing. "Playing hockey; staying over at Adam's place; eating out together; going to the movies…"

Guy's face fell. His earlier apprehensions turning from bad to worse as he listened further.

"…having trips to the park; having late night walks; picnic by the – Oomph!"

Averman doubled over and gasped for air. He painfully looked up to see Julie standing over him, eyes as wide as saucers, and lips pursed so tight that it was barely a visible line.

"Your elbow slipped too?" He asked with a groan.

"You're not helping!" She angrily hissed at him. Julie composed herself and turned Guy, who looked stricken. "Don't mind Les. You know how his brain detaches from his mouth sometimes."

Guy managed a slight nod, but he didn't even look half-convinced.

"Well' I'd better get over there before one of them actually drowns on that waist-high water."

Right beside him, Averman watched her go and wondered aloud, "Seriously, have she been taking enforcer lessons from Dean?"

* * *

Haha, poor Dwayne... ;P

Anyways,I've got something to tell you guys...The good news is that i've already finished a couple of chapters ahead of this this one...the bad news is that i'm not gonna be able to update them for the nextthree weeks,starting this friday.. :-(My brotherand I are willbe having a trip out of our country, and sad to say I can't bring my story with me...so, that's that...

Moving on to the shout outs...

**hockey-girl90** - thanks! i'm really glad you're liking my story... i hope you keep on reading..;-)

**Banksiesbabe99 - **yeah, loved that bit too.. to think that was a last minute addition to that part.. :P

**Emily Henson**- 50 dollars... hmmn.. let me thi - wait, no.. i can't.. my sister would kill me.. shealready thinks i havedamaged my morals whenI wrote adam into this story...darn it..

**White Artemis **- wow,I actually have a person who's literally cheering for me! thanks:P


	12. Crash and burn

**Chapter Twelve: Crash and Burn**

**A/N: **ummm, I've got nothing to say right now... no, not really, so just on with the story!

* * *

Connie and Adam stepped out of the building, chuckling to themselves. It was already dark outside. They had spent the entire afternoon playing hockey and just having fun. 

"You're such a cheater," he teased her as they stopped in front of the building, slinging his bag over his shoulders.

"Hey, I won that game fair and square. It wasn't my fault you decided to play all gentlemanly out there." Connie protested with a smile, playfully hitting him on the shoulders. "Don't think you can squirm your way out of this one, Banks. You owe me this dinner."

The two of them had earlier engaged in a little one-on-one game, with the loser buying their dinner that night. Connie had no qualms about going at it all out with Adam. But he, on the other hand, barely got three feet from her, lest he actually touch her.

"Right," he answered sarcastically. "So, what are we having tonight? Chinese? Italian? Mexican?"

"Hmm, I'm thinking Italian."

"Pizza sounds okay then?" He asked with impish grin.

She gave a small laugh. "Sounds great."

"Good. I know this great place. It's just a couple of blocks from here." He pointed towards the opposite direction of his apartment. "Come on, it's not far. Besides, I'm starving."

Connie rolled her eyes as Adam lightheartedly grabbed her forearm and tugged her. They started walking in silence.

A few minutes into their walk, Connie opened her mouth to speak. "Hey, I really, really appreciate what you're doing for me." She turned her head to look at him, but he has kept his gaze in front.

"Mmm hmm," he responded with a smile. "And you're not just saying that because I'm buying dinner, right?"

"Very funny," Connie replied in a sardonic smile. "No, really. I don't know what I'd do without you." She stopped just as they passed by a dark alley.

Adam noticed it and stopped walking as well. He turned around to face her, still wearing that smile he had a few moments ago.

"You're such a great friend, Adam. Thank you for that." Connie then took a step forward, leaned on her toes and planted a light kiss on Adam's right cheek. She pulled back to smile at him, but what she saw confused her.

Right there, on Adam's face, was the look of utter disappointment.

"I don't understand," Connie spoke softly; uncertainty etched itself across her face. "Adam, what's going-"

"Lovely night for a lover's walk, ain't it?" A looming voice echoed.

* * *

For Adam Banks, the day was nothing short of glorious. 

What started as the best breakfast of his life turned out to be the most magnificent afternoon with the girl of his dreams. Not to mention, he was thoroughly pleased with himself. Somehow, he had successfully managed to wear his heart on his sleeve, yet without Connie recognizing it. Adam had been slyly passing it off as a playful banter between them. His smile never left his face since that morning. It could stay that way until his face fall off for all he cared.

As much as he hated to admit, part of him silently cheered when Connie had asked him not to call Charlie earlier that day, or to contact any of their friends, for that matter. At least it completed the illusion that there was no one else except the two of them together… that the two of them _were_ together. And for a whole day, they really were.

If he were to suddenly drop dead right at that instant, he would have died a happy man.

Well, at least that was until moments ago, when everything suddenly just went south.

One moment, he was standing there, smiling broadly at her, and the next moment, she was unwittingly breaking his heart into pieces with three simple steps.

_"You're such a great friend, Adam…"_

_"Thank you for that…"_

And, of course, the _kiss._

Rip it right out.

Smash it.

Smash it good.

Adam froze, perfectly speechless as Connie leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek. He never knew that a kiss like that could exist– sweet, like honey, yet burning, like acid.

A feeling of total dejection washed over him, and this time, no smile could ever hide it. _A friend… I'll never be more than a friend. _He thought miserably. And if there was an actual testament to that, it was the kiss the sealed his fate.

There was no one to blame but himself. He knew he had been foolishly setting himself up for something like this, but still he tried. Everyday he hoped for her to see past his friendship, and realize his offer of so much more. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but it had never really hurt him to try.

Until now.

Adam knew his face betrayed every emotion he felt, so he struggled to compose himself quickly. Unfortunately, Connie had pulled away a second too early, and saw the look on his face.

"I don't understand." She had said softly. Her smiled had quickly faltered. "Adam, what's going-"

Before Connie could finish her question, a menacing voice cut her off.

* * *

Adam quickly turned around at the sound of the voice, and saw a man emerge from the shadows of the dark alley they had just passed. Instinctively, he took a step towards Connie, keeping himself in front of her. At the same time, he felt Connie's hand automatically snake towards his arm. 

"Can I help you?" he asked the man nonchalantly, but tightened his around his hockey stick. It only took him one look to realize that this man was not here to talk about the weather.

"Not really." The man smirked. He was sporting the standard 'bad guy' package: black leather jacket, dark pants, intimidating smirk, and bad teeth. But he was scrawny, and just a little bit smaller than him.

Adam would have laughed out loud on his face, if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation they were in.

"But that's a nice watch, though," he commented, pointing to Adam's wrist. "Must have cost a fortune." He took a step closer.

Adam felt his heart race, and in turn took a step backwards, still standing protectively in front of Connie.

"Can I have it?" It was a simple question, but there was no mistake in the threat of this man's voice.

But he remained silent, his intent gaze never leaving the man in front of him. _He's just one man, and Connie and I both got our sticks. I don't care how much this new stick costs, but if he comes any closer, I would whack him with this and – _

"Adam," Connie hissed, interrupting his thoughts as if she has read his mind, "I think it would be a better idea to just give that man what he wants."

"I think girlie here is right." A startling voice from behind them spoke. "It would be better if you just give my friend what he wants."

Connie's grip on his arm suddenly tensed as Adam quickly whirled around to see the owner of the voice.

Another man was standing right behind Connie, but this one was much larger than the other guy. This one was twice Adam's size, with at least a couple of inches on him. Only then that he noticed that the man was gripping her shoulders rather forcefully.

His reaction was instantaneous.

"Get your fucking hands off her," Adam growled as he yanked Connie away from the man's grip. Quickly, he raised his stick and hit the man with such brute force. Once. Twice. Thrice. Adrenaline was pumping into his veins.

"Adam, wait!"

He was about to raise his stick again, but Connie's terrified voice stopped him.

The man stumbled backwards, clutching his bleeding head. Evidently, he did not expect Adam's savage attack.

"Oh _shit_!" A panicked voice spoke.

Adam's blood froze. In his rage, he had completely forgotten the other man who was standing behind them. The man who was now standing right behind –

_Connie!_

He spun around, but he was too late. He realized that the scrawny guy had already grabbed a stunned-looking Connie, who dropped her stick, and had one hand on her shoulder and one on her back as he shoved her powerfully towards him. Adam barely had time to react as he caught her in his arm, dropping his stick in the process. The force of her fall caused them to stagger back a few steps.

With that, the scrawny guy hurried over to his partner, and dragged him across the street and into the shadows once more.

"It's okay, it's okay," he breathed heavily, still clutching her in his arms. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, him. "They're gone. It's okay."

But Connie did not respond. Instead, she was making this wheezing sound.

"Cons, you all right?" Adam asked as he took a small step backwards to look at her.

The first thing he noticed was that she was incredibly pale. Deathly, even. Second was that she was visibly having a hard time breathing. Concern quickly took over him. "What's wrong? Tell me what's –" He stopped short as his hands traveled down her back.

Adam went pallid.

There was something warm and sticky on her shirt. In one fearful glance, he knew that one of his worst nightmares had come true. _The fucking bastard was holding a knife!_

He fell to his knees, hugging Connie tight as he fumbled around his bag for his phone. "I-it's gonna be okay Cons," his voice quivered as he dialed 911. "You're gonna be okay."

Connie opened her mouth to speak, but all she managed was to cough up blood.

"Shhhh, don't worry, you'll be fine." He assured her as he saw the tears that were falling down her eyes. "I promise."

Adam didn't even realize the tears that were falling down his own.

* * *

Guy let out a small gasp and bolted upright. 

He looked around wildly, slightly confused. His whole body was drenched in sweat. It took him a moment to realize that he was in their hotel room.

"Something wrong?" Charlie's sleepy voice came from the other bed.

"No, just a nightmare," Guy answered tentatively, panting. "Just a nightmare."

* * *

Well, that was fun, wasn't it? Yeah, I think I'll leave it at that, for the mean time… Still got some other stuff to do... 

**Anne918: **hey, thanks! i hope you keep reading.. i've still got some surprises in store... :P

**Emily: **Oh, um, weelllll... Three weeks is just about enough for me to find the prefect place to hide, so - _:dashes off:_

Anyways, don't forget to write a review!

See you in three weeks!

Cheers!


	13. Endings and Beginnings

**Chapter Thirteen: Endings and Beginnings**

**A/N:** Yes, I know what the title says, but believe me, this isn't the end… Hell, I'm just getting started! (Well, sort of…) And yes, I've been told that I can be really mean sometimes… hey, I actually considered posting this as the last chapter before I got on that vacation, but I didn't… So who you calling mean now... :P

Okay, seriously, I don't know what's wrong with this site. It took me FOUR days beforeI could finally log in and upload this chapter. I always get this message that says 'servers overload'...sheesh...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own these people… The only thing I own right about now is this gum I'm chewing… and these clothes I'm wearing… and this story I'm writing… and this laptop I'm using… and those MD dvds I've been watching… and the hunky doctor that makes an appearance… and – hey, I'm actually richer that I thought… cool!

* * *

Adam was in a total daze. 

He didn't even remember getting there at the hospital. All he recalled was that after what felt like an agonizing eternity of just kneeling there on cold concrete, some paramedic was tugging at his arm, trying to free Connie from his embrace and into a stretcher.

And now the next thing he knew, he was standing in the ER with surrounded by flurry of nurses, doctors and patients.

"Excuse me sir," a middle-aged nurse called and walked over to where he was standing for the last half hour or so. "Are you the friend they brought in with Miss," she looked over to the chart she was clutching, "Moreau?"

"Yes, I-I am." He answered distractedly. Adam craned his neck, trying to look over the nurse's shoulder to the trauma room where they took Connie.

"Do you know where we could contact her parents?" The nurse inquired.

"No, they're both dead… Car accident," he supplied as he shook his head lightly.

"Any other relatives?"

"She has an aunt," Adam mumbled hesitantly, "but she told me she's off somewhere in Australia with her husband. I have no idea when they're coming back."

The nurse let out a sympathetic sigh. "Well, is there anyone else you'd like us to – "

The door to the trauma room suddenly burst open, as Adam saw two doctors, a male and a female, and a nurse wheeling out a gurney with Connie on it.

"Wait, what's going on?" Panic was starting surge through him again as he quickly rushed towards them. The nurse he had been talking to followed right behind him. "Where are you taking her?"

The female doctor stopped to address him while the other doctor and nurse continued towards the elevator. "Are you the patient's relative?"

"No, she's a friend," he answered impatiently.

"Well, we've managed to stop the bleeding, but the knife wound was pretty deep." She explained to him. "We need to take her up to surgery to repair the internal damages done. Nurse Taggart here," she continued, waving towards the nurse he had earlier been speaking to, "will escort you there."

Adam could only give a feeble nod.

_

* * *

_

_Damn it, damn it, damn it!_ He paced back and forth on the hallway, clutching his phone in frustration. "Damn it!" A few people jumped in surprise as he hurled his phone furiously on the wall.

Adam stopped short, realized what he has done, and bent to pick up the pieces of what was left of his phone. He cast a rather embarrassed glance around at the people. Some of them were looking at him reprovingly, while others just shook their head, looking pityingly.

He awkwardly made his way one of the chairs, acutely aware of the gazes being pointed his way.

For the last twenty minutes, he had been desperately trying to contact their former coach, Gordon Bombay, to inform him about their situation. But a message on his machine told him that Gordon was somewhere in Europe on an official trip. Much to his dismay, and horror, Coach Orion was currently out of the country and on vacation with his daughter, as well.

Adam brought his hands to his head. _Oh god, I-I cant… I don't think I can't do this._ His insides were screaming at him in panic. What was he going to do? There was no Coach Orion, and no Coach Bombay. How the hell should he know how to handle this!

Before his mind could ramble on, the kind nurse who helped him earlier returned once again and greeted him. "Here you go, hon, I found you some extra scrubs." She offered him kindly a set of scrub suit. "I figured you might want to change your clothes, since it got blood stains all over it."

He looked down on himself and for the first time Adam noticed his disheveled appearance. And all over his shirt and even his pants, were stains of dried blood. _Connie's blood…_ He painfully swallowed whatever emotion it was that threatened to overwhelm him, and reached out for the scrub suit. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"Now, why don't you go fix yourself up on the men's room, and then go sit on the waiting lounge over there. I'm sure the doctor will be out soon to inform you about your friend's condition."

Adam managed a feeble nod and walked - almost mechanically - towards what he perceived to be the right direction.

"Are you Miss Moreau's friend?"

He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there in the corner, staring off into space. It felt like days, although it must have been only hours, since it happened. And already he was stuck inside a nightmare. The scene just kept on repeating itself over and over inside his head. Each time it ended differently. Each time it ended worse.

"Sir?"

Adam snapped out of his reverie, and found a person in a scrub suit peering over him.

He repeated his question. "Are you Miss Moreau's friend?"

"Yeah," Adam answered, still somewhat dazed.

"My name is Dr. Isles," the young doctor introduced himself. "We worked on your, friend, Miss Moreau."

"W-will she be alright?" he asked him, his voice hitching.

"Yes, we managed to get the internal bleeding to stop," the doctor started, but paused hesitantly. "The knife nicked the lower lobe of her right lung, and Dr. Foster, from the ER, told us that they had a hard time reinflating it. I understand that she was treated her a few days back for lung contusion, and that may have caused it."

He tried to nod his head, as if in agreement, but Adam had no idea were this conversation was going. His eyes started to glaze over.

"And what happened was that the oxygen level in her brain has dropped and…"

The young doctor had launched himself into a detailed description of what happened, and started spouting of medical terms that Adam barely understood. By this time, only snippets of information had only made its way to his ears, but even then it was not something he could process. Probably the only thing that was ringing in his head right now was the _'Yes'_ part of their conversation.

"…. There might be some complications, like spasms… …hallucinations… ….so I guess you could see her now."

"Huh?" Again, he snapped from his trance.

The doctor curiously narrowed his eyes at him, and repeated himself. "I said they took her to recovery, and you could see her now, if you want. Are you sure you und-"

Adam cut him off. "Yes, thank you very much. I, uh, I'll see her now."

"Right," Dr. Isles answered, but not quite convinced. "It's towards that hall, second door to the left."

"Thanks again," he quickly excused himself and strode away.

* * *

Her eyelids felt like lead. And surprisingly, so did her body. 

She let out a groan. It felt like everything was mucked up into a big whirlpool of blackness and confusion.

"Cons?"

Someone was speaking to her.

She willed her hand to move, and finally after a minute of so, her hand twitched. It was then that she noticed another hand clasping hers. She tried to see who it was, but it was like her eyelids were glued shut.

"Don't force it, Cons." The voice said soothingly. "The nurse said you need to rest."

But she continued to pry them open, anyway.

And when they finally managed to flutter open, she found herself staring into the deep blue eyes of… a stranger.

"Wh-Who are you?"

* * *

Well, I guess my vacation got longer that I expected. Oh well. At least I had fun! 

I can't believe it actually took me _thirteen_ chapters just to get that out! Talk about slow!

To all my reviewers: well, I think it's safe for me to say you didn't saw that last chapter coming! Well, what about this one!

**Banksiesbabe99: **I know it sounds mean, but I was really on the floor laughing my ass off reading your review… just don't ask me why, 'cause I'm not sure myself… I usually don't find humor on people in distress (note: _usually_)… but really, you had me cracking up.. Oh well, I'm weird that way…

**Yours-truly: **Hey, thanks. Hope you keep on reading!

**Emily: **Well, I told you I had a pretty good place to hide!

**Cakeeater: **thanks! Yeah, I pretty much hate cliffies to, except of course, when I'm doing them. haha!

**Anne918: **I'm really glad you like it. I'm trying to twist this story as much as I could. I just hope I won't be confusing the readers, like I'm confusing myself right now. I still haven't decided who ends up with who…

Come on, press that tiny button for me… :P


	14. Tabula Rasa

**Chapter Fourteen: Tabula Rasa**

**A/N: **I guess the title gave it away, huh? lol. :P

_

* * *

"Wh-who are you?" _

His smile froze on his face. Did Connie just ask him who he was? "It's me, Adam," he answered gently. _Probably just the drugs._ Adam smiled at her reassuringly.

"Adam?" She uttered his name like a foreign language. Confusion was still etched across her face.

_Well, it **must **be the drugs. _"Yes, as in Adam, you're, uh, friend." He stuttered, the stigma of their last conversation still fresh from his memory. If Connie had noticed, he wasn't sure. What she had noticed, though, – and he was pretty sure of it – was his hand that was clutching hers.

Suddenly embarrassed, he cleared his throat and gently untangled his paw from hers, before glancing at her expectantly.

The look on her face told him that she still didn't recognize him.

"It's gotta **be** the drugs." This time he muttered aloud, looking at her disbelievingly. After all, why wouldn't she recognize him, right? Well, how else could he explain this, other than as a drug-induced hallucination?

But the wide chocolate brown eyes staring at him told otherwise. In fact, by now he was pretty sure she was completely lucid. Not to mention looking a little panicked.

"Wh-why can't I…" He could see tears building up in her eyes as she looked at him in trepidation. The heart monitor beside the bed was starting to beep a little faster.

"It's okay, just, uh, just calm down." Adam quickly placed a placating hand on hers. "I – I'm sure it's just temporary." Now was not the time to worry her, although he was starting to panic himself.

What exactly had the surgeon told him earlier? _Something about reinflated lungs… low oxygen to the brain…_ He bit his lip, as he furiously racked his own brain, trying to recall his earlier conversation with the doctor.

_"…may have suffered cerebral anoxia… …complications…. ….spasms, amnesia… …hallucinations…" _

Amnesia. _Oh shit. _He gave a loud sigh as he rubbed his face in frustration. "Maybe I should get a doctor," Adam stood up and started to head for the door.

"Wait!" Connie called out to him weakly. "You're leaving me here?"

Adam turned around and saw the look of fear in her eyes.

They were silently begging him to stay.

"No, no I won't," he quietly answered, taking a seat beside her bed.

* * *

It took a while before Connie had finally calmed down and drifted back to sleep. Adam took that time to go and talk to her doctor once more, who had confirmed the high possibility of amnesia. 

He was told that recovering her friend's memory should be a gradual process. That information should not be forced on her. And this is exactly why he is sitting by her bed again; anxious as hell.

Back to where he started.

Adam sat there, lightly tapping the edge of Connie's bed. He was seriously contemplating about jumping off the window; save his teammates the trouble. Even if he miraculously survived that, they can't possibly do anything to a brain-dead vegetable, could they?

_Or they could just pull the plug on you. _The tiny voice in his head retorted.

Huh. Or that.

_Figures_.

He suddenly shook his head vigorously, trying to get rid of the terrifying mental scenario he had painted himself. Adam wearily rubbed his bloodshot eyes.

Sleep. Sleep would clear his mind. Sleep was what he needed. Especially right now. His internal dialogue with himself was starting to scare him.

He closed his eyes and gingerly laid his head on the bed, right next to her arm. Solution would surely present itself in the morning, when his mind would be crystal clear. He gave a tired smile to no one, and drifted off to sleep.

_Yeah, keep telling yourself that._

* * *

"Well, it's official. Adam is not staying in their house and is currently in the middle of god knows where." Averman announced, hanging up the phone on the bedside table. 

"That's it?" Julie asked from the foot of the bed. "The butler actually told you that?"

"Actually it was along the lines of _'Mahster Adam is indisposed right now'_." He mimicked using a thick English accent. "Or, you know, something like that."

"That doesn't really mean anything, right?" Charlie piped from where he was seated, glancing from Julie and then to Guy. The latter was lying across the other bed, with both arms jamming a pillow into his face. "I mean, other than they must be staying elsewhere."

Guy stopped smothering himself with the pillow and tossed it away. "It's just that, don't you find it weird that they haven't tried to reach us yet?" He continued to stare at the ceiling. "What if… what if something's happened?" His voice was quiet.

"And you're basing this on some stupid nightmare you had last night?" Averman asked with a laugh.

Charlie and Julie both spun their heads so fast they could practically hear the whiplash. And, if glares were indeed daggers, Averman would have been a goner a long time ago.

"I don't know," Guy admitted with a heavy sigh. "It just doesn't feel right…"

Julie tried to lighten the mood. "Don't worry, Guy. The moment we arrive back home, we'll send out a search party for her." She declared jokingly.

Just then there was a sudden knock on the door. Charlie got up from the other side of the room and opened the door.

"What are you guys doing in here?" Portman asked as he crossed the threshold. "Come on, the sun's been up for hours. Fulton and the others managed to get someone to tour us around the island." He started yanking them all off the bed.

"Alright, alright!" Averman glared at him, rubbing his shoulders as he stood up. "And you know," he started, turning his attention back to Guy. "If something _was_ to happen, you could always ask Portman here to tear Adam's arm off."

Guy looked stricken.

Great. The last thing they needed was to implant that idea on his head.

"He's just kidding, Guy." Charlie quickly supplied, but Guy didn't even looked half convinced.

Julie silently walked over to Averman, stopped, and punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey, that hurts!" He exclaimed indignantly. She just gave him a withering glance. "I think Portman's rubbing off on you, Cat Lady. Better lay off on those make out sessions."

Portman opened his mouth angrily, but Julie had already grabbed his arm and dragged him outside before he could say something. Guy followed suit, leaving the two of them inside the room.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder how you managed to stay alive all these years."

"Yeah," Averman nodded wistfully. "Me too."

* * *

"Here we are," Adam explained as he pushed the door wide open. He tossed aside the bag he had been carrying and waved her to get in. 

Connie hesitantly stepped inside, eyes wandering a bit. It stopped wandering when it fell on the smiling figure in front of him.

Adam Banks.

Her lifeline. Her only connection to herself, and to the world.

The only person who could prove to the world the identity of Connie Moreau. To assure everyone – herself included – that she just didn't pop into the world and into lonely existence.

After gaining enough senses, the first thing she asked him on the hospital was about her family. He was hesitant at first, but she finally pestered him enough for him to tell her about her family, or lack thereof.

Fact: the only thing worse that waking up not knowing anything, was waking up knowing you have not family at all. Knowing that you were basically alone.

Then this man came along; a stranger claiming to be her 'friend'.

Adam had been nice and sweet; a perfect gentleman. He made her feel safe. He didn't leave her like she asked. And he was just always… there for her.

There was comfort in his eyes when he carefully explained the situation to her, and their current 'arrangement'. Of course she was initially skeptical, no matter how he made her feel. When a guy you barely even knew came and told you you've been living together, who wouldn't be? For all she knew, he could be a homicidal nymphomaniac preying on helpless girls like her. A _guy_ this nice, it was almost impossible. She probably never knew another guy like him.

He was too good to be true… so she waited for the other shoe to drop.

But it didn't.

Because there was no shoe. This guy genuinely cared for her, right from the start. The tingling feeling she felt when she saw him? It was recognition. He was a friend.

So now here they were.

He started to walk towards her, but she waved him off. "I'm fine, thanks." Connie closed the door behind her.

"Okay," Adam nodded, grabbing the phone. "You must be starving after all those crap they call 'food' that they've been feeding you. Why don't you rest for a bit while I order us some take out?" He suggested and motioned towards the hallway. "Room's at the end, to the left."

"So, um, where do you sleep?" She asked awkwardly.

"Wherever I fall asleep." He answered jokingly. "Usually on the couch, though."

"Oh, I wouldn't mi-"

"It's comfier than it looks, so don't even think about pulling a switch with me. You weren't quite convincing the last time, either." He playfully shooed her away. "Go try it. It's way better than your old hospital bed. I'll call you when it's time to eat."

Connie smiled at him appreciatively.

* * *

Both of them had settled on the couch and into a comfortable silence soon after dinner. The tv was currently tuned in on a channel showing reruns of some comedy series. It had been part of their daily ritual come nighttime, and she found herself lost in it. Not long after though, Connie found herself glancing curiously towards the other side of the couch. Adam was snoring lightly; his head tilted slightly in her direction. 

He was close. Close enough for her to reach out and touch him.

She gently twirled his golden locks between her fingers, careful as not to wake him. The more she looked at him, the more she saw it. There was something about him that was so familiar.

Sometimes those things made her heart skip a beat.

Connie closed her eyes. She had a dream about him once. About Adam. But somehow he was different. His hair had seemed longer, and lighter. His eyes were softer. And those deep blue eyes. They were just… not the same. It was… a different color… a different shade. She never did have a good look on his face. He disappeared right before she could go near him.

To her it was Adam, but at the same time it was not.

In that dream she felt safe. She felt… loved… cherished… cared for. Very much like the way Adam made her feel the day she met him… again, apparently. And to a person like her, with no recollection of her background, of her history, it was something. It was everything.

With a smile on her she slowly opened her eyes and turned her head towards him.

She liked him, this stranger.

Her only friend.

Her maybe 'more-than-a-friend' friend.

**

* * *

Hockey-girl90:** hey, thanks! 

**Banksiesbabe99: **Really, you're killing me here! lol.:P babbling is good. it makes me laugh, especially yours.:P but before you call me a sadist (well, i actually kinda am) you'd be surprise how well-versed i am in the art of babbling... so anyway, i don't thinkbabblingis a sign of beinga nutter.. ha,it's not like you're foaming at the mouth... are you? lol. :P

**SweetNJuicyX0: **I'm glad you like it. thanks!

**zshp1411: **Thanks! Hope you read this chapter as well.

**Emily: **Aha! Se pierde Bruno, eh? I'm freeeee! Bwahahaha! lol. :P okay, before you set out Bruno for my head, just remember: nothing is set in stone. heck, i could even pull a fast one and pair Connie with that doctor... or - heeey, that's not a shabby idea at all... hmmmn... :P

**Connie/Charliefan: **thanks! Alright! We got another one rooting for Adam...so that makes the score... um... pretty close, i guess..

**Cakeeater: **Cyprus, huh? Haven't been there yet. Hope you had a great time! Anyways, nice to know you're still enjoying my story. :-) i hope you'll stick around to find out who she ends up with...


	15. Welcome to the rumor mill

**Chapter 15: Welcome to the rumor mill**

**A/N: **Alright, kiddies… here's another chapter!

**Disclaimer: **Don't sue me, I don't own 'em!

* * *

"I'm not so sure about this, Adam." Connie looked fretfully at him. It has been a few days since they got back from the hospital, and so far she had been very comfortable with his company. Today, however, he could almost see second thoughts flitting into her mind when they stepped inside an ice skating rink. "I don't think I can do it." 

"What are you talking about?" He exclaimed incredulously as he stopped tying on his skates. "Of course you can do this!" Connie shook her head in disagreement. "Yes, you can," Adam calmly, but forcefully, told her. "It's just like, you know, riding a bike." He assured her with a laugh. He then turned his attention to her skates, which were only halfway done, and proceeded to tie it himself.

"But I don't even remember if I ever learned to how ride a bike!"

"No, actually you didn't know how to ride one, but that's beside the point." Adam smirked, looking up. "What I mean is that it's one of those things that people just don't forget."

"I think you're just in it for the laughs." She eyed him distrustfully. "At my expense, no less."

He sighed dramatically, and then gave her a sweet smile. "Look, I'll hold your hand. I promise I will never let you fall." His offer almost seemed nonchalant, but deep inside his heart was angrily thumping at his chest. If she could only hear his heartbeat right now, it would quickly betray every emotion he felt right now. He wondered what Guy would do if he saw them like that. _Probably chew my arm off._

"Come on," he called, holding out his hand to her. It took a second or two before Connie finally took it and held on tight as he led her out into the rink.

* * *

"What'd I tell you?" He playfully held his free hand behind his ear as he waited for an answer. 

"Um, that it's just like riding a bike, but then went right on to tell me I didn't even know how to ride one." Connie responded dryly. "I wonder how people could even trust you when you put things like that." But Adam had been right. The moment she stepped on the ice, it was like her feet had a mind of its own and she was on auto-pilot. "This definitely beats riding on a bike, though," she finally conceded with a smile.

Adam gave a tiny shrug. "You think this is fun, but wait 'til we got some sticks and puck."

She raised an eyebrow. "You mean as in like ice hockey or something?"

"Exactly as in ice hockey." He turned his head to face her, a proud smile on his face. "And you, Connie Moreau, are part of the three-time state champs Eden Hall Mighty Ducks. Oh, did I mention about the part where we won in the Junior Goodwill Games too?"

"Cool. I hope I outdid you every time we played together." She teased.

"You wish." He retorted.

She rolled her eyes, but it quickly darted to her side. Adam had still not let go of her hand, even though she has been skating on her own since they both stepped on the ice.

And also, he was grinning like an idiot.

Connie tried to hide her own smile.

She didn't mind it at all.

* * *

"So, do you really think something's going with Banksie and Connie?" Fulton asked conspiratorially. The whole team was gathered around a big bonfire that night, save for Guy, who was off doing something in his room. Not one of them had any idea what. 

"Yeah, and I'm dating Katie Johnson," Russ scoffed from across.

"Oh, come on. Two weeks, all alone, together? Don't tell me nothing's going on there." Fulton paused, and turned to Russ, completely confused. "Who's Katie Johnson?"

"Girl from Chemistry class, second row, beside the window." He replied with a shrug.

"Hey, I know her. She's a member of the track team, and she's hot," Luis approved with a sly smile. "I can get you her number, if you want." Julie rolled her eyes at him.

"Thanks, man!"

"Anyway, yeah, I think something's definitely up," Luis offered casually.

"No, I don't think so," Charlie, who was seated between Russ and Ken, disagreed. "You see, even before they joined the Ducks, they have always been 'Connie & Guy.' They're a packaged deal. Practically attached to the hip." He said as a matter-of-fact.

"So how do you explain the thousand mile distance between them now, huh?"

Everyone was watching the whole exchange between Charlie and Luis with keen interest. None of them were sure where the conversation was going. Even Portman was being uncharacteristically silent.

"And your point would be?"

"Dude, Banskie is **so** in to Connie. Has been for ages. I mean, haven't you seen him. He trails her like a lost puppy every single time she's around." He looked around and saw their blank faces. "Haven't you noticed?"

"Well," Ken spoke up for the first time. "They are kinda best friends."

"But he hasn't dated anyone since… ever!" Luis waved his hand to make a point. "I try to set him up with some chick every night, and his answer's always the same."

"Hmmn," Beside him, Averman looked thoughtful, "I always figured that's just because he's gay."

There was on outburst of reaction from everyone.

"Adam's gay?" Dwayne asked incredulously amidst everybody's reaction.

"Of course he's not!" Julie defended, a little too quickly for everybody's taste. All eyes fell on her.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Well well, is there something Julie the Cat forgot to share with the team?" Portman looked homicidal.

"Shut up, Charlie," she angrily retorted, and turned her attention to her teammates. "Well, Connie would have surely told me about that," she said, pointedly ignoring their snickering.

Russ was confused. "About Adam being gay?"

"No," her icy glare stopped everyone from laughing, "the deal about her… and Adam. If ever there was one."

"I think that's just wrong. Guy and Connie, they're like peanut butter and jelly," Goldberg piped up. "You just can't eat one without the other. To say that they're not together would be like… like…"

"Eating twinkies without the filling…? Macaroni without cheese…? Spaghetti without meatballs…?" Averman helpfully supplied.

"Exactly! And 'Connie and Adam'? That's just like – "

"Steak with whipped cream…? Ice cream with ketchup…? Creamed corn with jello…?"

"Man, you take the words right out of my mouth." Goldberg nodded approvingly.

"Gross," Fulton made a face, and turned to Charlie. "What's up with them and food analogies?" Charlie shrugged, looking just as confused as he.

"Hey guys," A voice suddenly interrupted and everyone turned to see Guy approaching them. The conversation quickly ceased and everyone fell silent.

He paused, trying to read their inscrutable faces. "Were you just talking about me?" He asked suspiciously.

Their expressions changed andthey all looked like a child caught with a hand inside the cookie jar.

"No, not you!"

"Of course not!"

"Why would we be talking about you?"

"You're not **that** important to talk about."

The collective denial from them only proved to him that they were, in fact, just talking about him, or at least something that concerned him.

"No," Dwayne happily chirped, "we were talking about Ad – "

"Dolphin we saw this morning," Julie cut off, "Uh huh. I thought itlooked adorable, you know, while doing its thing."

"I thought you just hung around the pool this morning?" Guy flung a questioning look to Charlie. He didn't notice the quick glare Julie threw Dwayne's way and the little nod to Charlie afterwards.

"Um, yeah. It was on the tv." He covered. "Something about birthing… and feeding habits." Everyone tried to suppress a snicker, but most of them passed it off as cough.

Guy stared at them, completely puzzled. "Anyway, I have been thinking a lot – "

Portman snorted. "I would be, too, locked up in the room like that." Julie elbowed him. "Ouch!"

He totally ignored his comment. " – and I realized that I've done nothing but mope around these past few days. I know what you guys meant when you said that she needed some space, but I really think I've given her enough. So, I'm flying back home tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I'm sorry I ruined your vacation. You can carry on with me gone."

Blank faces stared back at him.

"Dude," Portman spoke up, "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but tomorrow **is **our flight back home."

"What?"

"Our two weeks is up. We're all going home tomorrow."

Guy stared at them incredulously, his mouth forming a small 'o', which opened and closed just like a fish.

"Two weeks? I've wasted away two weeks? I've been here for two frickin' weeks?"

They all nodded their heads slowly.

"I'm **such** an idiot!"

* * *

All right! I'm writing the next chapter as I upload this… I think surprises are in order… :) 

**Cakeeater:** Is she, really? What if Adam just grew his hair longer… or dyed it… and wore contact lenses… or something…?

**Hockey-girl90: **thanks!

**White Artemis: **hey, you're back! haha, thanks for the vote of confidence.. i hope you'll stick around.. :P

**Banskiesbabe99: **lol! you rock! yeah, babbling is SO much fun! haha, i'm actually getting confused with this story. if my mind would not clear it out for me, maybe a toss coin will... :P


	16. Surprise, surprise

**Chapter 16: Surprise, surprise**

**A/N**: Wow, it's been like, what, eons ago since I updated this fic? Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I've been trying really hard to squeeze time to finish this story. Been kinda really really busy. Anyways, i hope you guys aren't too pissed yet to read this chapter, though. I know it's crappy, but at least I updated, right? Ha ha ha...No? Well, tough luck... I'm still posting it. >:P On with the story.

**Disclaimer: **Nope, still don't own them!

* * *

Connie drummed her fingers on the countertop and impatiently glanced at the clock. It read 11:40am. Adam had gone out half an hour before, saying something about getting some things from his parents' house, and then picking up some lunch for them afterwards. She didn't exactly volunteer to stay, but Adam didn't want her hauling his stuff, either. So it was decided that would just stay behind. 

She shuffled towards the couch, grabbed the remote and plopped down. She flicked it a few times, before settling for Cartoon Network. Nothing is good on tv in the morning, especially on Mondays. A few minutes later and she clicked it off.

_How boring could this day get?_ Connie then found herself thinking about what they could do that afternoon. _Maybe we could play hockey again. Or maybe a movie… he did want to see that – _

Her train of thoughts, however, was interrupted by the soft growling sound of her stomach. Rolling her eyes, she ambled her way back to the kitchen. A sigh escaped her lips as soon as she noticed that they were all out of oranges, a fruit she had strangely grown a fondness for – or so Adam claimed. How he actually knew that, she would never know. The guy just seemed to know every single thing in her life, and Connie was sure it was much more than he let her on to believe.

She pondered for a minute before she finally decided to get out and get some herself, but not without leaving a quick note. Connie walked briskly toward the drawers in the living room, and rummaged around for something to use.

"Aha," she exclaimed to herself, holding out a pen and a pad of paper triumphantly. She scribbled a short note:

_Adam,_

_We're out of oranges... Went out to get some._

Tapping the pen on her chin, she quickly added with a grin:

_Don't worry; I think I still remember my way_

_back here, if that's what you're thinking. _

Connie stopped dead, contemplating what to write next.

'Yours truly?' _What, you writing a college acceptance letter or something!_

'Your friend?' _Too… friendly._

'Love?' _Don't get any ideas now, Connie! You're not writing a love letter, for cryin' out loud!_ But her heart fluttered at the thought, anyway.

In the end, she decided to simply write her name, but not without a tiny smiley face beside it.

Grabbing her bag, Adam's mp3 player, and extra set of keys to the apartment, she set down the note where it was visible in plain view and headed out of the door.

* * *

"Ugh! I hate airplane food!" Goldberg groused as soon as they stepped inside Charlie's house. "Always tastes like it's been pre-barfed." 

Most of them, and by that meaning all except one, were in a rather grouchy mood. All of them had been up since the crack of dawn, when a certain green-eyed menace started banging on their doors to wake them up. Guy had even practically packed their things for them.

"I'm starving. How 'bout we grab something to eat?" Charlie suggested, dumping his bags beside the couch along with the others.

"Bu –" Guy stopped dead in his sentence as ten pair of angry and sleep-deprived eyes burn in to him. "So, um, where do you guys want to eat?"

* * *

"So how did Charlie found out about that diner, exactly?" Fulton asked. He was wandering with Luis a few feet ahead the rest of the team, enduring the glaring heat from the afternoon sun. They were on their way to this little diner Charlie suggested, just a couple of blocks from downtown. "It's not as if there's only one in here, anyway. There must be at least a couple every few blocks." 

Luis shrugged. "Dunno, must've taken a girl there during a date."

He snickered, remembering that his friend **had** actually done something like that before.

"Hey guys!" They turned around to see Goldberg waving at them a couple of stores behind. "The place is over here," gesturing to a fairly new diner that had passed, with a nondescript sign that both of them now only noticed. Most of their friends were already piling inside.

"You guys go ahead. I think I saw a music store just ahead, so I'll just drop by and look. See if I can find new tunes." Fulton turned his head to Luis.

"Yeah, I think I'll come take a look too." Luis nodded.

"Great. Just order me some double cheeseburger with a side of fries, and milkshake."

That earned him a smirk from Luis. "I'll have the same, but with onion rings and a soda. Thanks, man."

"Alright," Goldberg answered with a shrug. "But don't go blaming me if it disappears before you even get back."

"Dude, you gotta see this." Luis suddenly piped. Fulton noticed him rubbing eyes before squinting ahead. "There, that girl with a bag of fruits or something. She just totally looks like Connie, it's creepy."

He followed his gaze towards the same direction and did the same. It took him only half a second before hitting Luis at the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Luis rubbed his head huffily, sending him a glare.

"That's because it **is** Connie." Then he jogged towards her, barely registering the fact that Luis had run back to the diner, no doubt to inform the others.

* * *

She hummed softly, gently bobbing her head to the sound blaring in her ears as Connie exited the store. The bag of oranges she came to get was now swinging lazily in her hand. It wouldn't normally take her twenty minutes to get to the store to buy something, since it was only a couple of blocks away. The weather, however, was so perfect that she had slowed down her pace to a leisure stroll. 

Connie made her way to the crosswalk sign and pressed the button. She stood there for a couple of seconds waiting for it to signal go, when all of a sudden, strong arms grabbed her from behind. Startled, she turned around and stood face to face, (well, face to chest, actually) with a big goon.

"Hey, look who decided to come out of her hole. We've been looking for you."

The guy was smiling at her, but she wasn't about to take a chance.

So she ran.

* * *

"Hey, Connie, wait up!" Fulton stood there gazing at her retreating form, dumbstruck. "What…?" 

"Dude, what happened?" It was Charlie who reached him first, along with Guy. The rest of the team was trailing nearby.

"I'm not sure." He turned his attention to them, confusion still etched in his face. "She just bolted."

"Then what are we doing, let's go!" Guy exclaimed impatiently. He took off in her direction, not waiting for an answer.

* * *

Connie ran as fast as her legs would take her. She was desperately trying to rack her brain as to why the guy would be chasing her. He couldn't possibly be an ex-boyfriend. _He is **so** not my type! _Irrational thoughts flit in and out of her head. Her logical conclusion: she owed him money, or something. _He definitely seems the type._ _I mean, why else would I be associated with a guy like that, right? _But then again, Adam never mentioned she had a gambling problem for her to be in a money problem like that. 

Risking a backward glance, she was now vaguely aware that aside from the guy who grabbed her, there were at least ten more people chasing after. _Great, he even got his own platoon. I can't possibly owe all of them money, can I?_

"Yes!" Connie silently exclaimed as she neared the apartment. _Please let Adam be here. Just please, let him be here. _She burst through the building door and bit back a cheer as the object of her prayers turn around, obviously surprised. Adam was standing by the elevator door with a bag over his shoulders, waiting for a ride up.

"Hey, where'd you come from?" he asked pleasantly.

Never even bothering to answer, she flung herself behind him just in time for the mob to come bursting in.

"Connie, what was that-"

Everything suddenly grew silent. All of them wore an expression of shock on their faces.

"Cake-eater!"

She didn't notice Adam's expression mirroring the rest of them.

* * *

Come on, press that li'l button for me! I know you want to. :P 


End file.
